A United Arab Emirates Airlines has concluded plans to halt flight operations into Nigeria over the challenges in repatriating the proceeds of their ticket sales back to the UAE.
In a statement, the spokesman for the airline says, all efforts initiated to repatriate their trapped funds in the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN with the relevant authorities have proved abortive.
“Emirates have tried every avenue to address our ongoing challenges in repatriating funds from Nigeria, and we have made considerable efforts to initiate dialogue with the relevant authorities for their urgent intervention to help find a viable solution”.
According to the statement, regrettably, since there has been no progress made on the matter, the airline has taken the difficult decision to suspend all flights to and from Nigeria, effective 1 September 2022, to limit further losses and impact on their operational costs that continue to accumulate in the market.
“We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our customers, however the circumstances are beyond our control at this stage. We will be working to help impacted customers make alternative travel arrangements wherever possible”.
Emirates assured that, should there be any positive developments in the coming days regarding Emirates’ blocked funds in Nigeria, they will re-evaluate their decision.
“We remain keen to serve Nigeria, and our operations provide much needed connectivity for Nigerian travellers, providing access to trade and tourism opportunities to Dubai, and our broader network of over 130 destinations.”
