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NCAA to sanction airlines selling tickets in dollars

By Wole Oyebade
04 July 2016   |   2:53 am
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has threatened to sanction airlines that are in the habit of selling air tickets in foreign currency, particularly the dollar.
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority

Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has threatened to sanction airlines that are in the habit of selling air tickets in foreign currency, particularly the dollar.

The regulatory authority yesterday said that the action was a flagrant contravention of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) prerequisite guiding cost of products or services in Nigeria.

The apex bank, in a circular dated April 17, 2015, reiterated that pricing of any product shall continue to be in Naira only, adding that it was illegal to price or denominate the cost of any product or service (visible or invisible) in any foreign currency.

Spokesman for NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, in a statement yesterday said the agency was disturbed by reports that some foreign airlines were not accepting the Naira as payment for tickets.

“In other words, some foreign airlines have blatantly resorted to selling tickets only in foreign currency. This act is considered insensitive to passengers who have elected on their own volition to choose the airlines for their travel.”

According to the agency, this is also contrary to the provisions of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and other countries as contained in Article 8 (4).

Consequently, Adurogboye said that the regulatory authority had written warning letters to the erring airlines to immediately comply with the provisions of extant pacts, adding that sales of tickets and services should henceforth be offered to air travellers in Naira. He further said that the Federal Government had taken measures to ameliorate the subsisting foreign exchange issues.

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