Emirates said it is suspending flights to Nigeria starting September 1, as the Dubai carrier struggles to repatriate funds of around $85 million from the African country.
The airline said “there has been no progress” in collecting the payments, resulting in the decision “limit further losses and impact on our operational costs that continue to accumulate in the market.”
In June, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said airlines are owed $1.6 billion from 20 countries. Nigeria, the most populous African nation, takes $450 million in that chunk of blocked remittances.
“We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our customers, however the circumstances are beyond our control at this stage,” a statement from Emirates read.
Although the airline said it is “keen to serve Nigeria,” it will await positive developments to re-evaluate its decision.
“We will be working to help impacted customers make alternative travel arrangements wherever possible,” it added.
Earlier this month, Emirates already decided to reduce its operations to Nigerian cities of Lagos and Abuja from August 24.
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