International flight fares are expected to increase in Nigeria as foreign airlines operating in the country have raised their Rate of Exchange (RoE) from N610 per dollar to N634 per dollar, experts have said.
This is the third time in three months that the RoE has been raised.
Kelvin Emmanuel, an economic analyst and CEO of Dairy Hills Limited in a tweet said: “The implication of moving the airline FX rate to 634 is that the airlines will lose 27.29% of their sales revenue automatically in order to repatriate their FX backlog of $745m.”
He added that the airlines will jack up ticket prices for Nigeria to make up for their backlog.
The trapped funds of foreign airlines in Nigeria are said to have risen from $744 million in March to $802 million in April.
The rise in FX rate to N634 per dollar was confirmed by Bankole Bernard, chairman of the Airlines and Passengers’ Joint Committee or APJC of the International Air Transport Association or IATA. He also mentioned that the new rate is slightly lower than the black market rate.
