FG To Penalize Foreign Airlines For Selling Tickets In Dollars
The Federal Government of Nigeria has threatened to penalize foreign airlines in the country because of their refusal to accept naira payment for flight tickets.
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, said this at a briefing held yesterday after the Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to him, intelligence reports noted that some of the airlines refuse to sell in naira but charge ticket fares in dollars instead, violating Nigerian laws.
The minister further disclosed that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has been ordered to deal with any airlines that are caught flouting the laws.
Sirika warned them to desist from using the social media to place their demands rather than going through the appropriate channels.
According to him, foreign airlines have made over 1.1 billion dollars so far from Nigeria since 2016, an amount which would have remained in the country if they were local airlines.
He further revealed that the airlines remitted over 600 million dollars to their home countries in 2016, while over 265 million dollars has also been released this year.
