The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has officially removed Nigeria from its list of countries with blocked or unrepatriated airline funds. This update came during IATA’s recent annual general meeting, where Kamil Al-Awadhi, the regional vice-president for Africa, the Middle East, and Europe, announced improvements in countries previously restricting airline revenue access.
Al-Awadhi highlighted that Nigeria, along with Egypt and Ethiopia, made significant progress in resolving issues with blocked funds. Nigeria’s advances were enough to take it off the list of nations holding trapped airline revenues. Despite this positive change, blocked airline funds remain a major issue across the Africa and Middle East region. Globally, $1.28 billion in airline revenues were still withheld as of April, with $1.1 billion (about 85%) blocked in this region alone. African countries accounted for $919 million of the total.
Mozambique leads the global list of countries with the most blocked airline funds, followed by the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (XAF Zone), Algeria, Lebanon, and Angola. Al-Awadhi warned that restricting airlines’ access to their revenues harms operations, reduces connectivity, and deters foreign investment. He urged governments to make aviation a priority in foreign exchange access, emphasizing its vital role in economic growth and regional integration.
Previously, Nigeria topped the world for unrepatriated airline funds, peaking at roughly $850 million due to a persistent foreign exchange shortage. Following pressure from the aviation industry, the Central Bank of Nigeria began releasing funds in 2022 and continued the process under the current government. By March 2024, the bank declared the foreign exchange backlog cleared. IATA confirmed that 98% of Nigeria’s airline funds had been released.
