Hospitality & Travel
Nigeria owes foreign airlines $53 million as proceeds from ticket sales – IATA
Foreign airlines operating in Nigeria are having difficulties repatriating funds back to their operational base.
The sum of $53 million, which is the proceeds from sales of foreign airlines’ ticket, are trapped in Nigeria.
This was disclosed by the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East (AME), Mr. Muhammed Albakri, at its 76th Annual General Meeting.
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Albakri explained that foreign airlines operating into Nigeria are having difficulties repatriating the fund back to their operational base.
He stated that Nigeria and other African countries have blocked funds that amounted to $516 million.
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He said, “IATA has been at the forefront of the campaign, soliciting governments’ support for the aviation industry in order to salvage the situation.”
Nigeria is not the only country with trapped funds but fourth among 12 others with similar issues.
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Others African states are Zimbabwe $160 million; Eritrea $79 million; Algeria $54 million; Ethiopia $52 million; Sudan $45 million; Libya $27 million; XAF Zone $27 million; Angola $9 million; Mozambique $6 million; Burundi $3 million and Zambia $1 million.
What it means: The IATA’s disclosure is an indication that the airlines could not access foreign exchange (forex) by operators due to COVID-19 pandemic, as most countries are struggling economically with its attendant effect on global airline industry.
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What you need to know: International airlines are owed $824 million globally and $516 million out of $824 million in blocked funds is in Africa. With the IATA revelation, it means the rest of the world has $308 million of the blocked funds.
Business News
NRC confirms Nairametrics’ report, reveals how tickets are hoarded for second-hand buyers
It was disclosed that some people use an app to digitally alter the name printed on the e-tickets to reflect the second-hand buyers’ names.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has revealed how some Nigerians hoard e-tickets and sell them to second-hand buyers. This is coming few weeks after Nairametrics reported Nigerians’ lamentations over the hike in train fares due to the hoarding of e-tickets.
How does it work?
Nigerians allegedly game the new e-ticketing system as they buy multiple tickets (using multiple e-mails) and resell them to second-hand buyers. But the name of the original buyer will not tally with the second buyer, you ask?
Findings of the corporation revealed that this is taken care of by the original buyers, as they use an app to digitally alter the name printed on the e-tickets to reflect the second-hand buyers’ names.
This was revealed by the Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Digital and New Media, Tolu Ogunlesi, via his Twitter handle on Friday.
He tweeted, “NRC says Nigerians trying to game the new e-ticketing system are using an app to digitally alter the name printed on the e-tickets. So they buy multiple tickets (using multiple emails) and then resell – altering ticket names to match the second-hand buyers.
“This tweet is not to suggest that the authorities are helpless or are not doing anything to stay ahead of criminals, instead to show just how desperate some of the people we inhabit this space with can be.”
NRC says Nigerians trying to game the new e-ticketing system are using an app to digitally alter the name printed on the e-tickets. So they buy multiple tickets (using multiple emails) and then resell – altering ticket names to match the second-hand buyers.
— tolu ogunlesi (@toluogunlesi) April 9, 2021
What you should know
On March 16, 2021, Nairametrics published a special report that revealed how Nigerians lamented over the recent hike in train fares, which many of them said was illegal.
Aside from the difficulties and over 100% hikes in the fares, most of the victims, who spoke with Nairametrics, urged the Federal Government through the Rotimi Amaechi led Ministry of Transportation to investigate the allegations and expose the activities of the desperate individuals involved in the menace.
A Software Engineer, Segun Mustapha, told Nairametrics that he was not surprised when he read about the activities of the black market operators on Twitter. Though, he admitted that he had not experienced such but called on the Rotimi Amaechi led Ministry of Transportation to ensure such activities are removed from the system.
He said, “It should not be a big deal for the government to do if it has the political will to do such. We used to experience similar situations in the aviation industry before now and that was easier because airlines are operated by private firms.
“It is a system failure because it is not the louts selling at exorbitant rates that were booking the tickets online but we should not allow such to linger. Government should ensure that tickets booked online are not reallocated at the station if it is determined to get rid of the black market operators.”
Read the Nairametrics report here.
Business News
FAAN warns of delays due to passenger traffic increase, urges travelers to arrive airport early
FAAN advised passengers to get to the airport early to avoid missing their flights due to delays.
