Following announcement of the release of $265 million trapped funds to foreign airlines by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the international carriers have reintroduced their lower class tickets, better known as lower inventory in their operations in Nigeria.

Some foreign airlines had raised the alarm over their inability to remit their revenues in Nigeria, amounting to about $450 million.Last week, Emirates Airlines announced that it would suspend all flights to Nigeria from September 1, 2022, over its stuck $95 million.

However, the federal government bowed to the foreign airlines’ pressure on Friday with the release of $265 million of the trapped funds. This development encouraged the airlines to reintroduce their lower-class tickets.

The reintroduction of the airlines’ lower inventory in their booking means that Nigerians can now buy cheap tickets for their travels.These cheap tickets were blocked by the airlines following their inability to repatriate their revenues to their countries in foreign currency.

For instance, the foreign airlines had for the past three weeks introduced tickets that ranged from N1.2 million to N1.5 million for economy class, which used to be sold for N400,000 in January and February this year.

They also introduced N4 million tickets for business classes that used to go for between N1.5 million and N2 million.

However, with the release of part of their trapped funds, the airlines have reintroduced cheaper tickets. Some of the airlines had also reduced their flights to Nigeria to cut back losses.

Thisday