Emirates Airlines has announced the suspension of its flight operations to Nigeria, starting September 1, 2022 over its inability to repatriate its earnings in foreign exchange from the country.
The flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.
Last month, Emirates asked Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, to support the repatriation of its revenue, amounting to $85 million.
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Nigeria is facing a forex crisis and this has affected the nation’s local currency — Naira — which continues to depreciate embarrassingly against the dollar.
The airline said the suspension would “limit further losses and reduce the impact on its operational costs that continue to accumulate in the Nigerian market.”
This is coming amid the nationwide blackout and ASUU strike, following the industrial action by electricity workers and university lecturers respectively. Though the former announced the suspension of its strike on Wednesday night, there is still blackout in most neighborhoods across the country.