The Stranded Traveller: A Tale of Trapped Funds and Soaring Airfares in Nigeria

Nkechi had been saving for months to take her dream trip to London. She had researched everything from flights to hotels, and had finally settled on a good deal with Virgin Atlantic. But just as she was about to make the payment, she noticed that the price had gone up significantly.

She couldn’t understand why the exchange rate had suddenly skyrocketed from N462 per dollar to N551 per dollar, as she had been keeping up with the news and hadn’t heard of any major changes in the forex market.

Nkechi soon found out that the increase was due to a recent move by foreign airlines to block their inventory of cheaper tickets in order to cushion the effects of the rising amount of trapped funds. Nigeria had the highest amount of foreign airlines’ trapped funds globally, with about $743m as of January that year. This had led to a backlog of unremitted funds which the airlines were unable to repatriate, resulting in the increase in the exchange rate for ticket sales.

Nkechi felt frustrated and helpless. She had saved diligently and now her dream trip seemed to be slipping away. She wondered why the government hadn’t done more to release the trapped funds and make things easier for travellers like her. She reached out to her travel agent, who explained that the increase in the exchange rate had led to an over 20 per cent increase in international airfares. This meant that the promo price for her Virgin Atlantic ticket had gone up from N800,000 to N1.1m.

Nkechi was devastated. She had to either pay the higher price or forfeit her trip. She decided to explore other options and eventually found a cheaper deal with a less popular airline. The trip wasn’t exactly what she had envisioned, but at least she was going to London.

As she boarded the plane, Nkechi couldn’t help but think about how the situation could have been different if the government had acted faster to resolve the issue of trapped funds. She knew that many travellers were still stranded and unable to afford the high airfares. She made a mental note to write to her representatives and urge them to take action.

Nkechi’s trip was filled with mixed emotions. She was grateful for the opportunity to travel, but also saddened by the knowledge that many others were unable to do the same. She hoped that the situation would improve soon, and that travellers like her would not have to suffer the consequences of bureaucratic delays and economic uncertainty.