BA evaluates its Nigeria routes on traffic, dollar

BA is evaluating its routes to Nigeria, adding to aviation-industry pressure on the government as sister carrier Iberia and US competitor United halt flights to the oil-based market as traffic stutters and currency controls delay access to revenue. The UK carrier is struggling to repatriate its share of the $575m that Nigeria currently owes to airlines globally from tickets sold in the West African nation, said Kola Olayinka, country manager for BA’ and Iberia’s parent company, IAG. Madrid-based Iberia halted flights on May 12 to Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city, “due to very difficult operating circumstances and dwindling passenger numbers,” he said. IATA CEO Tony Tyler met with Nigerian VP Yemi Osinbajo this week, the lobby group said Wednesday, warning that Lagos could lose its role as a hub to West Africa. United informed employees on Wednesday that it would end flights from the US to Nigeria on June 30 because of a lack of demand and difficulty in collecting payments. IAG CEO Willie Walsh said last month that Iberia would stop serving Lagos after the low price of oil caused Nigeria’s economy to contract for the first time since 2004 in Q1. Limits on dollar repatriation have been imposed by the Nigerian Central Bank as reserves slip to $26.5b, the lowest in more than a decade, from more than $30b in early 2015.<br/>