Airlines are owed $1.6 billion from 20 countries as governments seek to retain hard currency, depriving the aviation industry of cash as it emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.
Of the blocked payments, 67 per cent of them are stuck in 12 countries in Africa, according to the latest figures released by the International Air Transport Association.
Nigeria is withholding $450 million in payments due to foreign airlines, the biggest amount held by any single African country, and the amount is rising every week, Iata said on Sunday in a briefing in Doha.
The global airlines’ lobby group has held two rounds of discussions with Nigerian authorities, including the country’s central bank, to help to negotiate the release of funds owed to foreign…