As Emirates Airlines Sells Tickets in Dollars, Travel Agents (NANTA) React

The decision by Emirates Airlines to offer tickets in dollars to Nigerian customers has been criticized by the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA).

Transactions in Nigeria ought to be made in local currency, according to Susan Akpdoriaye, the former president of NANTA, who expressed her concerns about the state of affairs. “Emirates cannot come out in the open and say they want to sell in dollars without authorisation. They will be sanctioned. Transactions in Nigeria should be done in our local currency; that is the law.”

"We were informed that Emirates was selling in dollars, and upon visiting the company, the new president and his delegation informed us that this was against Nigerian law. But lo and behold, the government permitted them.

“They sent emails to all their issuing agents and I got mine and when I got my mail, I called and asked why this was happening and this was the response I got.“Part of the condition the airline gave was to sell in dollars, and we were told that the government agreed. Are we taking five steps forward and 10 steps backwards? And what they have done is put fresh demand on the dollar,”

“We, the excos, have decided that we are going to engage further, that even if they want to sell in dollars, they should still give the option of naira.“Apart from that, selling in dollars will exclude 70 per cent of some of our members in business, and that is not good for us. Therefore, we will argue our position and offer some of our suggestions to them. One of our suggestions is that, even in the event that the naira is restricted, it should not be closed.

President of NANTA, Yinka Folami, expressed concerns regarding the lack of clarity in the current practices of Emirates.

He said, “They have started to publish some fares; they have not started operations, but they are just forward selling.

"It is not customary for them to sell in US dollars. Therefore, we are attempting to get confirmation from them. They are giving every indication that they will accept dollars for their sales. We are thus attempting to get them to confirm again exactly what it will be. We are currently speaking with them about that," he said.