Foreign airlines in Nigeria are frustrated by the blocking of their funds
Will the new president urge the central bank to hand over the cash?
International airlines with bases in Nigeria are looking hopefully at the inauguration of Bola Tinubu as president on May 29th, since their fate may rest in his hands. They want the country’s new chief pilot to tell the central bank to let them have their cash. Of the $2.2bn in airlines’ blocked funds across the world, the wodge stuck in Nigeria, almost $800m, is the biggest, says the International Air Transport Association (IATA). That figure has doubled since September. Nigerians are frequent flyers, thanks in part to their huge, helter-skelter diaspora, but, unless the bank acts fast, frustrated airlines may make it harder for any of them to get anywhere at all.
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This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Grounded funds”
From the May 20th 2023 edition
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