Emirate Airline has announced the suspension of its flight operations to Nigeria, starting September 1st 2022, over its $85 million revenue awaiting repatriation from Nigeria.
This shunning announcement was made in a statement by the airline on Thursday, the airline stated that the suspension is due to its inability to repatriate its earnings in foreign exchange from Nigeria.
The statement from their site reads below;
Emirates has tried every avenue to address our ongoing challenges in repatriating funds from Nigeria, and have made considerable efforts to initiate dialogue with the relevant authorities for their urgent intervention to help find a viable solution. Regrettable there has been no progress. Therefore, Emirates has taken the difficult decision to suspend all flights to and from Nigeria, effective 01 September 2022, to limit further losses and impact on our operational costs that continue to accumulate in the market.
We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our customers; however, the circumstances are beyond our control at this stake. We will be working to help impacted customers make alternative travel arrangements wherever possible. Should there be any positive developments in the coming days regarding Emirates’ blocked finds in Nigeria, we will of course, re‑evaluate our decision. We remain keen to serve Nigeria, and our operations provide much needed connectivity for Nigerian travellers, providing access to trade and tourism opportunities to Dubai, and to our broader network of over 130 destinations.
Impacted customers can choose to rebook their journey to/from an alternative destination (no onward transportation) within Africa or choose to cancel their travel plans and avail of a full refund for the unused portion of their ticket.
Customers who have booked with travel agents should contact them for alternative options or a refund. Customers who have booked directly with Emirates may contact the local office for alternative options, or visit emirates.com/refund to request a refund.
Other things you should know
- The airline had written to the Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika on July 22, to help repatriate $85 million of its revenue.
- In the letter, Emirate Airline said it will reduce the number of flights to Nigeria from August 15 due to its failure to repatriate its revenue from Nigeria.
- It said reducing the number of flights was to migrate the continued losses it was experiencing as a result of its funds being blocked in Nigeria.
- The $85 million is the airline’s revenue awaiting repatriation from Nigeria at July 2022.
