After the Central Bank of Nigeria released a portion funds the Dubai airline Emirates had earned in the country but had not been able to repatriate, the airline has decided to resume some flights to Lagos.
An airline spokesperson said flights to Lagos will resume from Sept. 11, though it is not possible to resume flights to Abuja in September because resources had already been stood down.
“We continue to engage with the Nigerian authorities to ensure the repatriation of our outstanding and future funds may continue without hindrance,” the spokesperson said, welcoming what it said was the central bank’s move to release a portion of its blocked funds.
The airline did not specify how much money had been repatriated or how much remained blocked.
Last month, the Dubai owned carrier announced it was suspending all flights to Nigeria from Sept. 1, after there was no progress in funds release.
Nigeria’s Central Bank later said it had released $265 million to various airlines to help settle outstanding ticket sales.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the largest airline group, had said that by July Nigeria was blocking airlines from accessing $464 million in revenue.
