Africa blocked funds affect airline operations

Airlines operate sales services from and within Africa, and often experience major challenges with unrepatriated funds.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports that as of the end of April 2025, $1.3 billion has been blocked by various governments. This amount is important, but it's an improvement of 25% compared to the $1.7 billion blocked funds recorded in October 2024.

Block airline revenue repatriation

The majority of countries with the highest blocked funds are in Africa.

Mozambique tops the list of $205 million in blocked funds. This is followed by the Francozone of Central Africa. Zones using the common currency are made up of various independent states.

Countries include Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Unblocked funds from this zone total $191 million.

Additionally, Algeria has $178 million, Angola has $84 million, Eritrea has $76 million, Eritrea and Zimbabwe have $68 million, and Ethiopia has $44 million blocked funds.

Also listed in the top 10 on the list are the following, but are located outside of Africa: Lebanon costs $142 million, Bangladesh costs $92 million, and Pakistan costs $83 million.

The impact of blocked funds

Blocked funds are a major obstacle to the airline's operations and pose a threat to the sustainability of the airline's operations. Therefore, this could threaten the connectivity of some passengers around the world. In fact, in 2022, Emirates halted its revenue and stopped its scheduled services in Nigeria.

The IATA urged the government to remove all barriers to prevent airlines from repatriating revenues from ticket sales and other activities in a timely manner in accordance with the obligations of international agreements and treaties.

“It is essential for airlines to ensure timely repatriation of revenues in order for airlines to cover expenses undertaken by the dollar and maintain operations. Delays and denials violate bilateral agreements and increase the risk of exchange rates. Reliable access to revenues is important for any business. Willie Walsh, director of IATA, said in a press release.

Lorne is a South Africa-based aviation journalist. He was fascinated and fascinated by flying from the day he received his first airline flight. With his passion for aviation in his blood, he flew to every corner of the globe. Lone travels extensively and lives in various countries. Based on his passion for travel and aviation, Lorne enjoys writing about airlines, routes, networks and new developments.

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Lorne is a South Africa-based aviation journalist. He was fascinated and fascinated by flying from the day he received his first airline flight. With his passion for aviation in his blood, he flew to every corner of the globe. Lone travels extensively and lives in various countries. Based on his passion for travel and aviation, Lorne enjoys writing about airlines, routes, networks and new developments.

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