British Airways, a flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, may stop sales of new tickets for flights in Nigeria according to a report.
The airline which made its debut flight to Lagos in 1936 through its predecessor, Imperial Airways, one of the pioneering airlines in Africa, disclosed the move after a crucial meeting with the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA).
A report by Nairametrics indicated that the airline noted it is closing inventory on its Nigeria business, meaning that it will not be selling new tickets going forward until Airlines’ impasse with regards to trapped funds is resolved.
BA in 2016, during the celebration of its 80 years operation in Nigeria said it is happy and ready for many more years of its business relations with Nigeria; but the recent move according to it, is necessary to mitigate the situation of trapped funds.
Sometime in June, it was reported that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) expressed concerns over the decision by the Federal Government of Nigeria to block foreign airlines from repatriating ticket sales revenue running into $450 million (N188.6 billion) into their respective countries.
IATA also revealed that the revenue belonging to foreign airlines in Nigeria that is being withheld from repatriation as of July 2022 is the sum of $464 million.
