Despite the tough stance of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stop foreign airlines from basing their fares on dollars, the carriers seem to have won the war with the apex bank helpless in restraining them…..CONTINUE READING...CONTINUE READING
The CBN last year warned the carriers to desist from charging travellers from Nigeria in dollar tickets, insisting that the naira is the legal tender for all monetary transactions within the country.
The carriers had maintained that charging fares in dollars would help them to minimise their trapped funds, which is said to have risen to over $700 million. A travel expert, Bernard Bankole, told New Telegraph that the idea to jettison naira-based tickets had significantly reduced the amount of airlines’ trapped funds.
The Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika had warned that the government would punish any international airline selling tickets in hard currency. Before now, international airlines had closed lower ticket inventories while introducing higher ticket costs, which are now out of the reach of most Nigerian travellers.
Return Economy air ticket to London from Lagos, which sold for between N400,000 and N500,000, now costs over N1.8 million and N2 mil- lion. It could cost more depending on the time of purchase.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), in a statement on Monday, said it is not responsible for the exchange rate applied to international flight tickets in Nigeria. This came after reports suggested that IATA was behind the hike in exchange rates.
The body said: “The exchange rates applied to international flight tickets sold in Nigeria are not determined by IATA, and it is incorrect to describe them as the ‘IATA exchange rate.’
“Air fares for international flights from Nigeria are denominated in US dollars and converted into naira, the local currency, for sale in the Nigerian market. “These conversions use the official prevailing exchange rate provided by the country’s financial system…..CONTINUE READING
