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Airlines quit Nigeria as economy slows in face of oil price slump
AIR carriers may follow United Airlines and Iberia and quit or cut flights to Nigeria as they struggle take revenue out of the country as it faces a collapse in world oil prices.
Iberia suspended its route to Africa's biggest economy on May 12, followed by United, which informed employees that it would end flights from the US, reported Bloomberg.
British Airways and Emirates have said they are facing difficulties obtaining outstanding airfares.
"Besides an inability to repatriate profit, passengers are reducing because the economy is going down," said Centurion Aviation Consultancy CEO John Ojikutu.
More airlines will probably cancel routes to Nigeria, he said. Africa's biggest economy is on the verge of a recession, oil production has fallen to about a three-decade low, and the budget deficit has swelled to a record.
The Nigerian economy contracted for the first time since 2004 in the first quarter, and foreign-currency reserves have slipped to US$26.4 billion, the lowest in more than a decade.
Faced with dwindling oil revenues, the central bank has restricted access to foreign exchange. Nigeria has held its currency, the naira, at 197-199 to the dollar since March 2015.
Iberia suspended its route to Africa's biggest economy on May 12, followed by United, which informed employees that it would end flights from the US, reported Bloomberg.
British Airways and Emirates have said they are facing difficulties obtaining outstanding airfares.
"Besides an inability to repatriate profit, passengers are reducing because the economy is going down," said Centurion Aviation Consultancy CEO John Ojikutu.
More airlines will probably cancel routes to Nigeria, he said. Africa's biggest economy is on the verge of a recession, oil production has fallen to about a three-decade low, and the budget deficit has swelled to a record.
The Nigerian economy contracted for the first time since 2004 in the first quarter, and foreign-currency reserves have slipped to US$26.4 billion, the lowest in more than a decade.
Faced with dwindling oil revenues, the central bank has restricted access to foreign exchange. Nigeria has held its currency, the naira, at 197-199 to the dollar since March 2015.
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