Experts in the travel industry have strongly condemned foreign airlines selling air tickets in United States dollars in the Nigerian market.
The experts described the practice as anti-competitive, discriminatory and contrary to the Federal Government’s macroeconomic recovery agenda.
Speaking on the issue, the President of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA), Yinka Folami, in an interview with The Guardian, said the decision of a few foreign airlines to insist on dollar-only transactions in Nigeria amounted to economic distortion and directly undermined the government’s ongoing efforts to stabilise the naira and rebuild investor confidence.
Folami insisted that the economic actions of industry players should align with the overall macroeconomic policies of the government, stressing that anything otherwise was a distortion to the economic recovery progress of the present administration.
According to him, although the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) arrangements between Nigeria and certain countries permit ticket sales in foreign currency, he stated that only a few airlines are actually covered by such provisions.
He noted that the majority of international carriers could legally transact in both naira and dollars, but a few had chosen to operate dollar-only sales systems in the country.
Folami lamented that the decision to do dollar sale had shut out more than 70 per cent of NANTA members, mostly small and medium-sized travel agencies—from direct transactions with these airlines.
According to him, this decision forced some association members to rely on intermediaries to complete bookings and remittances.
He also appealed to foreign airlines to show confidence in Nigeria’s economy and support the government’s fiscal reforms by reinstating naira ticket sales.
He said: “The dollar-only policy excludes about 70 per cent of our members from direct business. Their trading wallets are denominated in naira, and they cannot process dollar transactions directly. This is unfair and anti-competitive.
“The government’s foreign exchange policy has been widely commended. The naira is stabilising, liquidity has improved, and remittance processes are transparent. There is no justification for any foreign airline to compulsorily continue to sell in U.S. dollars only in Nigeria.”
Folami maintained that while foreign airlines had the right to make business decisions, those decisions must respect Nigeria’s sovereignty and its legal tender, describing the naira as a sovereign currency.
He reiterated that excluding the naira entirely from transactions in Nigeria was unjustifiable and demanded a reversal.
The NANTA President also dismissed suggestions that the dollar-only policy was a safeguard against the crisis of blocked funds, urging airlines to adopt a more optimistic posture towards Nigeria’s improving fiscal environment.
Folami warned that the continuous demand for dollars in the local aviation market could further weaken the naira and counteract the government’s monetary stabilisation efforts.
He added: “Two things affect the value of the naira — the volume of dollar purchases and their frequency. When people constantly make calls for dollars, it puts unnecessary pressure on the naira. We need to allow it to flourish and stabilise
“The growth of this sector will come from inclusion. Opening naira sales will empower thousands of young Nigerian agents, create jobs, and stimulate the economy. We must not be distracted from government policies.”
Besides, the Managing Director of Scribe Global Services, Gbemisola Akinboro, confirmed that some foreign airlines continue to sell air tickets in dollars, despite the naira’s stability over the last two years.
He mentioned one of the Middle East carriers as a major culprit in this practice. He, however, attributed the fear of a funds trap as the major reason for the insistence on dollars by some foreign airlines.
He said: “If you are booking online, the airline (name withheld) will never book you in naira, but if you are booking via Global Distribution System (GDS), they will price you in naira.
“Some of them are still living with the experience of trapped funds, but the government has addressed that because no funds now hang in Nigeria. The dollar sales are easier for them to repatriate. Unfortunately, by the time you buy in dollars and you do the conversion, you pay more in naira.”
He regretted that the restriction was putting more pressure on the naira as travellers demand dollars in the open and black markets.
