Rather than going through the obvious and difficult process of repatriating its funds out of Nigeria, South African Airways (SAA) has just announced that beginning on Wednesday, August 10, 2022, it will begin converting its tickets from naira to dollars in order to make it easier for its funds to be repatriated to its home country rather than becoming trapped in Nigeria.
The development comes as $450 million in funds belonging to foreign carriers operating in Nigeria remain stranded in the country.
In a statement given to its trade partners on Tuesday evening, the Southern African carrier stated that beginning Wednesday, August 10, 2022, passengers will only be able to issue Sold Inside Ticketed Inside (SITI), that is, tickets departing from Lagos-Johannesburg-Lagos in naira.
In other words, all tickets issued in Nigeria shall be paid for in naira, in accordance with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) requirement that all tickets issued in the country be paid for in naira.
All other tickets, such as Sold Outside Ticket Inside (SOTI) and Sold Outside Ticketed Outside (SOTO), that is, tickets issued outside, will, however, be paid for in dollars, according to the airline.
Tickets sold and issued outside the country would be issued in dollars under the most recent arrangements.
“Please be informed that effective from Wednesday 10th August 2022, you can ONLY offer SITI (i.e. LOS-JNB-LOS) tickets in Naira,” the airline noted in a notice to its trade partners. ALL other tickets, including SOTI and SOTO, must be given in USD.
“Please keep in mind that only tickets originating in Nigeria can be issued in naira.”
The new announcement by South African Airways may have been prompted by the inability of the over 27 international carriers operating in Nigeria to repatriate their accumulated $450 million money, which have been imprisoned in the CBN with no possibility of being returned to their home countries.
Out of dissatisfaction, many international carriers have implemented further stringent measures to mitigate the impact of the detained funds on their operations.
Such tactics, which include raising costs on several international routes and suspending the sale of cheaper tickets, have put Nigerian travelers in a difficult position, with fares on the Nigerian route becoming the most costly in the sub-region.
