Airlines issued a warning earlier today stating that if negotiations to unfreeze outstanding debts do not produce results, service to African and other countries that restrict the repatriation of funds may suffer.
According to the International Air Transport Association, which provided a briefing on the promising growth possibilities for the continent’s airline business, almost $1.6 billion, or two-thirds of the global total, is being delayed in Africa for a variety of reasons.
According to Kamil Al Awadhi, vice president of Iata for Africa and the Middle East, the international airlines’ lobby group has had two rounds of discussions with Nigerian authorities, including the country’s central bank, to assist in negotiating the release of money owed to foreign airlines operating in the nation.
The justification given was that “we don’t have hard cash and this is why we can’t do it,” yet Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa and is the 10th-largest oil exporter in the world, he noted.