The National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) has revealed that it experienced a loss of between $450m and $500m in revenue over a year, due to a decrease in ticket sales.
Foreign airlines operating in Nigeria have blocked low ticket inventories on their websites and only sell the highest priced ones, making it challenging for passengers to find affordable tickets.
The airlines also prevented travel agents in Nigeria from issuing tickets from other countries into Nigeria, causing passengers to buy tickets from agents in other African countries due to the sky-high fares resulting from the $550 million blocked funds.
Susan Akporiaye, NANTA’s President, has called on the government to be more strategic in resolving this problem and accused the foreign airlines of exploiting Nigerians and profiteering from the trapped funds.
She called on the airlines to open their inventories and provide reasonable fares for the Nigerian traveling public.
