British Airways, a major British airline, has forbidden travel agencies in Nigeria from selling their tickets because it is difficult for international airlines to return $464 million in ticket sales earnings to their home nations. This occurred as the Central Bank of Nigeria on Friday stated that $265 million of the detained N464 million money had been released to international carriers. According to a breakdown of the amount, $230 million was released as a special FX intervention, and another $35 million was issued through the Retail SMIS auction.
The ticket distribution companies, however, would no longer be able to make new bookings or service existing bookings made in Nigeria, according to a warning the BA sent to travel agencies in Nigeria on Friday. The UK airline did not give a justification for the choice or an estimated time frame for the suspension of ticket sales by Nigerian travel agencies. However, BA affirmed that it was committed to the Nigerian market and would continue to operate flights there.
As a result of the move, Nigerian travelers who want to fly with a UK airline may need to book their flights online and maybe pay with domestic or international debit cards. The change happened just a week after Middle Eastern airline Emirates Airlines announced that it would stop flying to Nigeria as of September 1, 2022. The Dubai-based airline attributed the change to its failure to bring $85 million in ticket sales revenue home.
The International Air Transport Association, a global organization that represents international airlines and is based in Switzerland, had previously warned Nigeria that additional airlines might stop flying to the country if the government did not take action to repatriate the $464 million stuck in Nigeria.
