Under the auspices of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the airlines stated that the currency rate pertaining to international flight tickets sold in Nigeria was not decided by the airlines, and that "it is incorrect referring  them as the IATA exchange rate."

It should be noted that the rate of exchange pertaining to foreign airlines has risen for the third time in less than two months, reaching N582/$1, resulting in an increase in the cost of international flight travel.

A six-hour Lagos-London Economy class ticket costs between N1.1 million and N2.97 million at the new RoE, according to the Global Distribution System (GDS), depending on the carrier, location, and time of ticketing. Whike Business class variant ranges in price from N3.36 million to N4.8 million.

While stakeholders expressed regret that this change has placed international air travel further out of reach for ordinary Nigerians, they recognized the inherent break on foreign airlines that use the Investors and Exporters (IE) FX window for fund restitution and restarting of naira inventories to travel agencies in the respective nations.

In a statement issued Monday, IATA, the clearing house for over 290 global airlines, emphasized that fares for foreign flights from Nigeria are denominated in US dollars and converted to Naira, the local currency, for sale in the Nigerian market.

"These adjustments make use of the country's economic system's official prevailing exchange rate."

"IATA simply uses the current rate at which the Central Bank of Nigeria sells USD to the market through banks at its twice-weekly retail foreign exchange auctions." The rate is not fixed, which means that if the CBN sells USD at a higher rate, the exchange rate used by airfares will rise as well, according to IATA.

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It is noteworthy that the foreign portion of the aviation industry has been mired in a fund crisis for the past year, affecting inventory, asking prices, as well as the near-collapse of local travel agencies.

The Central Bank of Nigeria  actually pledged $265 million in August 2022, having a balance of $200 million in the frozen fund in Nigeria. However, the abandoned funds continued to accumulate as a result of daily ticket sales, causing Emirates Airlines to abandon the Nigerian route in late October 2022. According to insiders in the sector, the total generated as at the latest check was well over $800 million.

According to The Guardian, the government recently accepted a change from the official CBN window to the far more volatile IE window for the return of foreign airline cash in Nigeria following a deal to break the stalemate.

Travel operators and analysts alike agreed that the increased tariffs were unavoidable and, in some ways, a good sign under the current market conditions.

Bankole Bernard, Chairman of the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) Airlines and Passengers Joint Committee (APJC), stated that foreign airlines using the IE window could be a long-term remedy to the perennial challenge of stuck funds, maximizing the financial sustainability of the international segment.

Bernard maintained that the frozen money situation had lasted far too long since the government was unsure what to do about the FX liquidity crisis and its impact on international airlines.

"The government has done nothing. If you tell airlines not to sell at NAFEX rates, but in Naira, then they don't obtain their equivalency for return, then the government is to blame."However, the airline has begun receiving payments because they are no longer waiting for the CBN." They are doing IE windows, and even though the cost is more, it is beneficial to both airlines and the government. "The only people who suffer in all of this are the masses," Bernard explained.