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Mozambique tops $1.3 billion in airlines blocked funds by governments, Nigeria maintains clean bill
- Trapped funds violate BASA, raise rate risks, says IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that $1.3 billion in airline fund is blocked from repatriation by governments at the end of April 2025.
This is a significant amount, although it is an improvement of 25% compared with the $1.7 billion reported for October 2024.
For two years, Nigeria has maintained a clean bill as the country is not among the nations owing foreign carriers.
In 2024, IATA announced that Nigeria had resolved all trapped fund issues. The Director-General of IATA, Willie Walsh acknowledged the tremendous progress in Nigeria, recalling that at its peak in June 2023, Nigeria’s blocked funds amounted to $850 million, significantly affecting airline operations and finances in the country, but most of the funds had been repatriated by the airlines from Nigeria.
IATA urged governments to remove all barriers preventing airlines from the timely repatriation of their revenues from ticket sales and other activities in accordance with international agreements and treaty obligations.
“Ensuring the timely repatriation of revenues is vital for airlines to cover dollar-denominated expenses and maintain their operations. Delays and denials violate bilateral agreements and increase exchange rate risks.
“Reliable access to revenues is critical for any business—particularly airlines which operate on very thin margins. Economies and jobs rely on international connectivity. Governments must realise that it is a challenge for airlines to maintain connectivity when revenue repatriation is denied or delayed,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
Ten 10 countries are responsible for 80% of blocked funds. The countries are Mozambique $205 million, Algeria $178 million, Lebanon $142 million, Bangladesh $92 million, Angola $84 million.
Other debtor countries are Pakistan $83 million, Eritrea $76 million, Zimbabwe $68 million, Ethiopia $44 million and XAF Zone $191 million.
Pakistan and Bangladesh, previously in the top five blocked funds countries, have made notable progress in clearing their backlog to $83 million and $92 million, respectively (from $311 million and $196 million in October 2024, respectively).
Mozambique has climbed up to the top of blocked funds countries, withholding $205 million from airlines, compared with $127 million in October 2024.
The Africa and Middle East (AME) region accounts for 85% of total blocked funds, at $1.1 billion as of end April 2025.
The most significant improvement was noted in Bolivia, fully clearing its backlog that stood at $42 million at end October 2024
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