Africa Sees $950 Million in Airline Funds Tied Up, Reports IATA

Mogadishu (AX) — In a revelation that can ruffle some feathers, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) brought to light that a hefty $950 million of airline moolah is stuck in African nations. This chunk represents a whopping 57% of the world’s aviation money that’s caught in a web due to scarce foreign exchanges. During a pow-wow at the African Airlines Association’s big annual shindig in Cairo, IATA’s head honcho, Willie Walsh, sounded the alarm, pleading for someone to get a move on and fix this jam!—astating mess.
“If airlines can’t get their dough out, they might as well call it quits. And if they do, local economies are gonna feel the burn with connectivity going kaput,” Walsh lamented.
Let’s zero in on Nigeria, once hogging the spotlight as the top troublemaker, with $850 million of airline loot stuck as of mid-2023, all thanks to their tight-fisted currency laws. This roadblock nudged big dogs like Emirates to hit the brakes on their operations by 2022. But, IATA chirped that, lo and behold, around 98% of that hassle has been sorted in good old Nigeria.
Now, don’t take a breather just yet! Across the African plains, countries using that dandy Central and West African CFA Franc are holding onto over $300 million of airline funds that are just itchin’ to be freed. This standoff’s been nothing short of a nightmare for operations, forcing many to cut back flights or shut shop in these spaces, while local businesses and communities stand in the shadow of this colossal hiccup.
In his no-nonsense style, Walsh tossed in other curveballs facing Africa’s flying biz, like astronomically high costs, shoddy airport setups, and jittery safety worries. Though the continent hosts a hefty 18% of the planet’s folks, its slice of the global economic pie is just 3%, and it barely scrapes 2% in the air transport arena.
While there’s been some pep in Africa’s safety march, Walsh was strong-armed in repeating the itch: more peeps need to hop on the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) bandwagon for better service smoothness. “The airheads on the IOSA registry are knocking it out of the park compared to others. Africa’s made strides, but don’t rest on your laurels just yet,” he chirped.
Now, here’s the silver lining: Africa is on a roll with a 28% dip in total seized funds since last December. Walsh called everyone to rally, from airlines to governments and global groups, in a collective mission to wipe out this irksome problem. Plus, he nudged African airlines to jump into the Global Aviation Data Management (GADM) escapade to crank up safety levels a notch.
“Unsnagging these funds quickly is not just a boon for the airlines but the lifeblood for the economies hanging by a thread they support,” Walsh wrapped up, with a resolute tone.

Edited by: Ali Musa

alimusa@axadletimes.com

Axadle international–Monitoring

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