BY: News Peddlers
Emirates Airlines has announced the suspension of flight operations in Nigeria beginning from September 1, blaming the decision on President Muhammadu Buhari's regime.
The announcement came after several failed attempts by the foreign airline to recover $85 million of the more than $600 million it had stashed in Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the airline explained that it needed to limit further losses caused by its inability to repatriate funds from Nigeria.
"Emirates has made the difficult decision to suspend all flights to and from Nigeria, effective September 1, 2022, in order to limit further losses and the impact on our operational costs that continue to accumulate in the market," the airline said.
"Emirates has tried every avenue to address our ongoing challenges in repatriating funds from Nigeria," the statement continued, "and we have made considerable efforts to initiate dialogue with the relevant authorities for their urgent intervention to help find a viable solution."
Emirates apologized to customers for any inconveniences caused by the suspension and promised to assist them in finding alternate travel options whenever possible. It did, however, promise to reconsider its decision once the frozen funds were repatriated.
It announced in July that it would reduce flight operations to Nigeria beginning August 15, citing the Central Bank of Nigeria's continued withholding of $85 million from ticket sales.
When the reduction was announced in July, the airline's DSVP International Affairs Majid Al Mualla stated that the airline had worked with the CBN to find a solution.
He stated that meetings with the airline's Nigerian bank and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) were held to discuss improving forex allocation. The efforts had had mixed results.
SOURCE: PEOPLES GAZETTE