Emirates Airlines has announced that it will suspend flight operations in Nigeria from September 1, citing the current state of things in the country for its decision.
This announcement comes after many failed attempts by the company to recover $85 million of its over $600 million trapped in Nigeria.
Emirate airlines explained in a statement on Thursday that it is left with no choice but to limit further losses caused by its inability to resettle funds from Nigeria.
“Emirates has taken the difficult decision to suspend all flights to and from Nigeria, effective September 1 2022, to limit further losses and impact on our operational costs that continue to accumulate in the market,” the airline said.
“Emirates has every avenue to address our ongoing challenges in repatriating funds from Nigeria, and we have made considerable efforts to initiate dialogue with the relevant authorities for their urgent intervention to help find a viable solution.”
Emirates also apologised to its customers for any challenges the suspension would cause and promised to assist them in finding alternative travel choices whenever possible. The company further promised to review its decision once it makes some headway in repatriating its frozen funds.
Emirates had earlier announced in June that it would reduce flight operations to Nigeria from August 15, citing the Central Bank of Nigeria’s continued withholding of $85 million from its ticket sales.
