Boeing 777300ER Image: Aero Icarus / CC BYNCSA 2.0, via Flickr
Emirates, one of the largest and most wellknown airlines in the world, announced drastic action on its flights to Nigeria as it failed to resolve an issue with the country’s authorities.
The Company advises its clients that it has attempted all means to address the ongoing challenges in repatriating funds from Nigeria and has made significant efforts to engage in dialogue with the relevant authorities in order to find a viable solution , but unfortunately made no progress .
With that, Emirates has made the difficult decision to suspend all flights to and from Nigeria from 1 September 2022 to limit further losses and impact on operating costs that continue to pile up in the market.
To better understand the problem, when an airline sells tickets for a flight to a certain country through its own systems, the money paid by customers goes directly to the company. However, certain funds from sales made, for example, by agents in the destination country, as well as certain amounts to be raised through operations in the country, may be blocked by the local government on the grounds that they will be released when conditions improve the country’s economies.
In such a situation, which is quite common in some African and Latin American countries, for example, there is no prediction as to when the money belonging to the airline will actually arrive in their coffers. This critical scenario, which has been aggravated with the crisis that many countries are going through due to the pandemic, was one of the topics covered at the annual meeting of world aviation that IATA held in Doha, Qatar, in June this year.
“We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our customers. However, the circumstances are beyond our control at this time. We will endeavor to assist affected customers in finding alternative travel arrangements whenever possible. Should there be any positive developments regarding Emirates’ blocked funds in Nigeria in the coming days, we will of course reevaluate our decision. We remain keen to serve Nigeria as our operations provide much needed connectivity for Nigerian travelers and provide access to trade and tourism opportunities to and through Dubai.”
According to Emirates, affected customers can rebook their travel to/from an alternative destination within Africa or cancel their travel plans and receive a full refund for the unused portion of the ticket.
Customers who booked with travel agents should contact them for alternative options or a refund.
Customers who booked directly with Emirates can contact their local office for alternative options or visit emirates.com/refund to request a refund.
Emirates Information