Economy
By Kennedy Nnamani
THE Emirate Air has said that it will reduce operations to Nigeria from August 15, 2022. This was contained in a letter from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, addressed to Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Aviation on July 22, 2022.
The letter, which was signed by Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, the Emirate’s DSVP International Affairs, stated that “with effect from 15 August 2022, Emirates will be forced to reduce flights from Dubai to Lagos from 11 per week to 7 per week.”
In the letter, Sheikh Majid Al Mualla noted that this action is “to mitigate the continued losses Emirates is experiencing as a result of funds being blocked in Nigeria”.
The letter read that “as of July 2022, Emirates has US$ 85 million of funds awaiting repatriation from Nigeria.
“This figure has been rising by more than $US10 million every month, as the ongoing operational costs of our 11 weekly flights to Lagos and 5 to Abuja continue to accumulate.”
In addition, Al Mualla noted that “we simply cannot continue to operate at the current level in the face of mounting losses, especially in the challenging post COVID-19 climate.”
He wrote: “Emirates did try to stem the losses by proposing to pay for fuel in Nigeria in Naira, which would have at least reduced one element of our ongoing costs, however, this request was denied by the supplier. This means that not only are Emirates’ revenues accumulating, we also have to send hard currency into Nigeria to sustain our own operation. Meanwhile our revenues are out of reach and not even earning credit interest.”
Furthermore, the letter disclosed that the senior Vice-President of the Emirates had earlier in May met with the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and followed up with letter to the Governor himself in June to find a solution to the issue, however, there was no response from Nigeria.
“Meetings were also held with Emirates’ own bank in Nigeria and in collaboration with IATA to discuss improving FX allocation, but with limited success,” the letter read.
It also noted that “despite our considerable efforts, the situation continues to deteriorate. We are now in the unfortunate position of having to cut flights, to mitigate against further losses going forward.”
While appealing to Nigeria’s minister of aviation for support, Al Mualla noted the airline will appreciate any support which the ministry could provide to solve the issue.
“While we appreciate that this issue is primarily a financial one,” he said “any support you could kindly provide would be warmly welcomed by Emirates.”
“We are confident that your valuable involvement would make a real difference in improving this very difficult situation,” he added.
KN
Tags: CBN Emirate Air Sheikh Majid Al Mualla
