Nigeria’s Aviation News Headlines for Tuesday September 27, 2016
Happy Tuesday everyone! I believe any business owner who is
interested in the economic wellness of her host country should transact
business in that country’s currency. Why would Emirates Airline want to lift
passengers from Nigeria but reject to accept Naira as a mode of payment? Nigeria’s
Aviation Industry regulators need to address this issue urgently before it sets
a wrong precedent.
Please find the headlines below and follow the links to access
the full stories.
Emirates Rejects Naira in Payment for Flight
• Stranded passengers allege discrimination Emirates Airlines has rejected the Nigerian currency, naira, for payment by travellers to Brazil.The Dubai-based airline is rather demanding a credit card mode of payment from passengers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.
The development, which caught many passengers unawares, caused some of them to be left behind, despite having bought tickets weeks earlier.The Guardian observed that while some passengers were turned back by the airline’s officials at the counter for already buying tickets in naira, they also ensured that a passenger who had earlier checked in for the 5:55 p.m. Lagos-Dubai Sunday flight never boarded the plane.
The Emirates office in Lagos yesterday confirmed that the credit card mode of payment is indeed the company’s policy, though it would not explain the rationale.An official of the airline, Babatunde Yahaya, who explained the new policy to angry passengers on Sunday said the action was in line with a memo issued to them, demanding that any ticket issued on Emirates, for passengers travelling from Nigeria to Brazil, “must be by credit card and not cash.” Yahaya said the directive was issued on September 22 and took effect immediately.
http://guardian.ng/news/emirates-rejects-naira-in-payment-for-flight
IATA Rates Nigeria High, As Allied Air Gets IOSA Certificate
A pointer to this is the recent score made on the global aviation scene by Allied Air Limited, one of the oldest airlines in Nigeria which became the first African cargo carrier to scale the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA).
The success is a lesson that with the kind of efforts being made by the Minister of state for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, to correct the ills in the industry; more gains will soon be made in the aviation sector.
Naira Now N445/$ on Parallel Market
The
naira sustained its decline on the parallel market as it slipped to N445 to the
dollar yesterday, lower than the N440 to the dollar it closed on Friday as
pressure and activities of speculators continued to hurt the nation’s currency.
But
on the interbank FX market, the spot rate of the naira depreciated marginally
to N308 to the dollar, as against the N307.79 to the dollar it closed last
Friday.
The
President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Mr.
Aminu Gwadabe, argued that the current rate of the naira on the parallel market
was not a true reflection of the value of the currency. He also attributed the
development to the
activities of speculators.
According
to him, the situation in the parallel market was being driven by speculators
taking advantage of the poor implementation of the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) policy requiring banks to sell dollars to bureau de change (BDC)
operators.
Some
currency traders also said the demand from parents buying dollars to pay school
fees abroad was exerting pressure on the FX market.
To
analysts at CSL Stockbrokers Limited, the effects of low oil prices and
production disruptions are having significant impact on dollar receipts by the
country.
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