Airlines unable to repatriate ticketing cash from Nigeria, others

Airlines are complaining that dollar scarcity has made it difficult for them to repatriate ticketing cash from Nigeria, Egypt, among other countries.

Ethiopian Airlines yesterday said it could not get cash out from some African countries, lamenting that it was unable to repatriate about $220 million held in local currency in Nigeria, Egypt and some other African countries because of foreign exchange shortages in the countries.
Its Chief Executive, Tewolde Gebremariam, told Reuters that this was partly because countries, such as Nigeria, had been hit by recent falls in oil prices, which was reducing foreign exchange inflows. This also meant cash held in the local currencies was losing value, he said. “This is a huge challenge for us,” the CEO added.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA)  last June, following the introduction of flexible foreign exchange policy.