Airlines operating in Nigeria have been warned by the Nigerian Civil
Aviation Authority (NCAA) to desist from selling flight tickets in
foreign currencies with immediate effect.
The NCAA had apparently got wind of some of the practices of some
airlines that reject naira only to accept foreign currencies in payment
for their tickets.
In a statement released by its Acting General Manager, Public
Relations, Sam Adurogboye, the NCAA said this particular practice by the
airlines is in contravention to the decreed guidelines of the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the cost of products or services in Nigeria.
The statement said, “The CBN, via a circular issued on April 17,2015,
has directed that “pricing of any product shall continue to be in naira
only and it is illegal to price or denominate the cost of any product
or service (visible or invisible) in any foreign currency.”
“The NCAA is disturbed by reports that some foreign airlines are
declining to accept Nigeria’s local currency – the naira — as payment
for tickets.”
“In other words, some foreign airlines have blatantly resorted to selling tickets only in foreign currency,” it said.
The statement further revealed that such acts also contravened the
provisions of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between
Nigeria and other countries as contained in Article 8 (4).
“As a consequence of this action, the regulatory authority has
written warning letters to such erring airlines to immediately comply
with the provisions of BASA and CBN directive.
“Sales of tickets and services should henceforth be offered to air travellers in naira without further delay,” it said.
