Foreign airlines increase ticket prices in Nigeria due to trapped funds - As of January this year, foreign airlines flying into Nigeria had about $743m in trapped funds...

International airfares on Nigerian routes have risen by over 20% due to foreign airlines raising the exchange rate for ticket sales from N462 per dollar to N551 per dollar.

The increase in the naira-dollar exchange rate is expected to worsen the plight of Nigeria travelers who are already paying higher airfares.

Multiple travel companies have confirmed the increase in the exchange rate, citing the difficulty foreign carriers are facing in repatriating their ticket sale proceeds out of Nigeria as the reason behind it.

As of January this year, foreign airlines flying into Nigeria had about $743 million in trapped funds in Nigeria, the highest amount globally.

The Federal Government has been urged to direct the Central Bank of Nigeria to expedite the release of the trapped funds.