The National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies is scheduled to meet with representatives of Emirates to discuss the airline’s recent decision to sell tickets in U.S. dollars to Nigerian customers.
The move by Emirates has raised concerns among travel agencies and travelers alike, prompting NANTA to seek clarification and explore potential solutions during the upcoming talks, according to The Punch.
The former President of NANTA, Susan Akpdoriaye, expressed frustration over the situation, saying, “Emirates cannot come out in the open and say they want to sell in dollars without authorisation. They will be sanctioned. Transactions in Nigeria should be done in our local currency; that is the law.”
Akpdoriaye said that NANTA had previously engaged with Emirates to address the airline’s ticket sales in dollars.
“When we heard Emirates was selling in dollars, the new president and his team visited Emirates and said Nigerian law does not allow you to do this. But low and behold, the government permitted them.
“They sent emails to all their issuing agents and I got mine and when I got my mail, I called and asked why this was happening and this was the response I got.
“Part of the condition the airline gave was to sell in dollars, and we were told that the government agreed. Are we taking five steps forward and 10 steps backwards? And what they have done is put fresh demand on the dollar,” she stated.
She stressed the broader implications for the economy and travel agencies, stating, “We want Emirates to come back, but we don’t want them to come back and kill our economy and take us back to square one. We are not excited about the outcome. Everybody is complaining bitterly because we know what this will cost.”
“We, the excos, have decided that we are going to engage further, that even if they want to sell in dollars, they should still give the option of naira.
“Apart from that, selling in dollars will exclude 70 per cent of some of our members in business, and that is not good for us. So we will present our case to them and present some of our ideas, and some of the ideas we are presenting to them is that even if they want to restrict the naira, they should at least not close it.”
The President of NANTA, Yinka Folami, expressed concerns over the ambiguity of Emirates’ current practices.
“They have started to publish some fares; they have not started operations, but they are just forward selling.
“It is not a norm that they should be selling in dollars. So what we are trying to do is confirm from them. Everything they are doing suggests that they will sell in dollars. So we are trying to reconfirm from them what it’ll be exactly. That’s the conversation we are having with them now,” he asserted.
Meanwhile, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Michael Achimugu has emphasized that transactions should comply with local currency regulations.
“They should not be selling in dollars. Even if the site mentions dollars, I think they are going to sell in naira. It could be written in dollars but should be paid in naira. It will be an anomaly,” Achimugu noted.
In October 2022, Emirates Airlines suspended flight operations to Nigeria due to its inability to repatriate $85 million in revenue trapped in the country.
The airline cited this financial constraint as the reason for halting its services.
However, Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo on November 19, 2023 announced that Emirates Airlines would soon reveal the exact date for resuming flight operations to Nigeria.
