The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned that the amount of airline funds for repatriation being blocked by governments has risen by more than 25% ($394 million) in the last six months. Total funds blocked now tally at close to $2.0 billion. IATA calls on governments to remove all barriers to airlines repatriating their revenues from ticket sales and other activities, in line with international agreements and treaty obligations.
IATA is also renewing its calls on Venezuela to settle the $3.8 billion of airline funds that have been blocked from repatriation since 2016 when the last authorization for limited repatriation of funds was allowed by the Venezuelan government.
„Sprečavanje avio-kompanija u repatrijaciji sredstava može izgledati kao jednostavan način da se osiguraju iscrpljeni trezori, ali na kraju će lokalna ekonomija platiti visoku cijenu. Nijedno preduzeće ne može izdržati pružanje usluga ako ne može biti plaćeno, a ovo se ne razlikuje ni za avio kompanije. Vazdušne veze su vitalni ekonomski katalizator. Omogućavanje efikasne repatrijacije prihoda ključno je za bilo koju ekonomiju da ostane globalno povezana s tržištima i lancima snabdijevanja“, rekao je Willie Walsh, generalni direktor IATA-e.
Sredstva avioprevoznika su blokirana od repatrijacije u više od 27 zemalja i teritorija.
Prvih pet tržišta sa blokiranim sredstvima (bez Venecuele) su:
• Nigeria: $551 million
• Pakistan: $225 million
• Bangladesh: $208 million
• Lebanon: $144 million
• Algeria: $140 million
Nigerija
Ukupna sredstva aviokompanije blokirana za repatrijaciju u Nigeriji iznose 551 milion dolara. Problemi repatrijacije su se pojavili u martu 2020. godine kada je potražnja za stranom valutom u zemlji nadmašila ponudu i banke u zemlji nisu bile u mogućnosti da servisiraju repatrijaciju valute.
Uprkos ovim izazovima, nigerijske vlasti su se angažovale s avio kompanijama i zajedno sa industrijom rade na pronalaženju mjera za oslobađanje raspoloživih sredstava.
“Nigeria is an example of how government-industry engagement can resolve blocked funds issues. Working with the Nigerian House of Representatives, Central Bank and the Minister of Aviation resulted in the release of $120 million for repatriation with the promise of a further release at the end of 2022. This encouraging progress demonstrates that, even in difficult circumstances, solutions can be found to clear blocked funds and ensure vital connectivity,” said Kamil Al-Awadhi as Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East.
Venecuela
Airlines have also restarted efforts to recover the $3.8 billion of unrepatriated airline revenues in Venezuela. There have been no approvals of repatriation of these airline funds since early 2016 and connectivity to Venezuela has dwindled to a handful of airlines selling tickets primarily outside the country. In fact, between 2016 and 2019 (the last normal year before COVID-19) connectivity to/from Venezuela plummeted by 62%. Venezuela is now looking to bolster tourism as part of its COVID-19 economic recovery plan and is seeking airlines to restart or expand air services to/from Venezuela. Success will be much more likely if Venezuela is able to instill confidence in the market by expeditiously settling past debts and providing concrete assurances that airlines will not face any blockages to future repatriation of funds.
