$1.28 billion’s Withheld Airlines Funds: IATA Clears Nigeria As Mozambique top list

The New Diplomat
Writer

Ad

The Gift of Hindsight: What I Would Tell My Younger Self, By Johnson Babalola

By Johnson Babalola @jbdlaw Hindsight, they say, is life’s most generous teacher—but it sends its lessons late. It is only after the storms that the patterns become clear; only after the wrong turns that the map begins to make sense. As I celebrate another birthday today and have grown older, I often find myself reflecting…

Gasoline Prices Drop Toward Pandemic-Era Lows

The national average price of gasoline dropped below $3 a gallon over the weekend. GasBuddy has predicted that prices will go even lower in the coming weeks, with good prospects of motorists enjoying sub-$3 prices for extended periods. This drop is overwhelmingly being driven by the significant increase in oil production from OPEC throughout 2025.…

Alleged Christian Genocide Claim is Damaging Nigeria’s Image– Tuggar Laments

By Abiola Olawale Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has voiced concern over what he described as the damaging impact of the "Christian genocide" narrative on Nigeria's international image. This is as the Minister claimed that the country's complex security challenges are being falsely simplified as religious persecution. Speaking at the Reuters NEXT Gulf Summit…

Ad

By Abiola Olawale

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has officially removed Nigeria from its list of countries withholding airlines’ revenues, commonly referred to as blocked or trapped funds.

This announcement, made during IATA’s recent annual general meeting (AGM), marks a milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to resolve longstanding foreign exchange (FX) challenges that have impacted international carriers.

Kamil Al-Awadhi, IATA’s regional vice-president for Africa, Middle East, and Europe (AME), confirmed the decision during a news conference on Tuesday.

Al-Awadhi revealed: “Significant improvements have been made in Nigeria, Egypt, and Ethiopia over the last year, with Nigeria no longer on the list of blocked funds countries.

“However, countries in AME continue to top the blocked funds list. Mozambique is currently withholding the largest amount of blocked funds globally, followed by the XAF Zone (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon) and Algeria and Lebanon.”

Al-Awadhi said as of April, a total of $1.28 billion is withheld globally, increasing from $1.7 billion in October 2024.

He said 29 AME countries are currently withholding international airlines’ revenues, with a total of $1.1 billion – representing 85 percent — being blocked in Africa and the Middle East.

According to a breakdown provided by the IATA official, countries with the highest amount of blocked funds in the AME as of April include Mozambique ($205 million), XAF Zone ($191 million), Algeria ($178 million), Lebanon ($142 million) and Angola ($84 million).

Ad

X whatsapp