Governments are withholding $4.9bn from airlines, according to IATA

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has told governments to comply with international agreements and treaty obligations by releasing airline funds that are blocked from repatriation.

8 Jun 2018

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According to IATA, the amount of airline funds blocked from repatriation totalled $4.9bn at the end of 2017, which was down 7% compared to year-end 2016. However, airline funds remain blocked in some 16 countries.

IATA’s director general and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac, says that IATA has had some recent success in persuading governments to release blocked airline funds.

“The $600m backlog in Nigeria has been cleared and we have made $120m of progress from a peak of over $500m in Angola. I encourage the government of Angola to work with airlines to help to reduce this backlog further," said De Juniac.

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The top five markets with blocked funds are:

• Venezuela, where airlines have been unable to repatriate $3.78bn
• Angola, where approximately $386m remains blocked
• Sudan, where $170m is blocked
• Bangladesh, where $95m is blocked
• Zimbabwe, where $76m is blocked

"Given the deepening economic crisis in Venezuela, a resolution appears to be unlikely in the short term. But we are encouraged by the recent developments in Nigeria and Angola, and hope other states will also move quickly to address blocked funds," said De Juniac.