There are strong indications that international airfares on Nigerian routes to various global destinations have skyrocketed again as International Air Transport Association (IATA) rates have risen by 37.5 percent above the official rate (N461.1/$) to print at N634.0/$.
Nigeria is facing severe dollar shortages, forcing many citizens and businesses to seek foreign exchange in the black market where its naira currency has progressively weakened.
The dollar shortages have made it difficult for some foreign airlines that sold tickets in the Nigerian naira to get their money out of the country.
A spokesperson for the global airlines industry association, IATA, said recently that Nigeria was withholding $743 million in revenue earned by international carriers operating in the country, the highest amount owed by any nation.
President Muhammadu Buhari in February directed the Central Bank to increase the amount of foreign currency allocated to Dubai’s Emirates after the airline suspended flights to and from Nigeria because it was unable to repatriate funds.
Oil is Nigeria’s biggest foreign exchange earner but incessant crude theft in the Niger Delta and years of underinvestment have hit output and strained government finances. For a few months last year, Angola overtook Nigeria as Africa’s biggest oil producer and exporter.
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