The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the top global trade association of airlines, has criticsed Nigeria’s failure to allow international airlines repatriate their profits, warning it may cause the country more damage. The group said the amount airlines have been unable to repatriate from the country rose to $464 million (N199.2 billion) in July. In a statement on its official Twitter handle on Friday, IATA said it was “disappointed” that the Nigerian government did not heed its warnings to allow timely repatriation of the funds.
“The IATA is disappointed that the amount of airline money blocked from repatriation by the #The Nigerian government grew to $464 million in July. #blocked funds,” it said. “IATA’s many warnings that failure to restore timely repatriation will hurt Nigeria with reduced air connectivity are proving true with the withdrawal of @emirates from the market.” The reaction came a day after Emirates announced it will suspend all flights to Nigeria from September 1 due to its failure to repatriate money from the country. Three weeks ago, the airline had in a letter to Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, said it would reduce the number of flights to Nigeria from August 15 due to its failure to repatriate $85 million.
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