Africa’s Blocked Funds Impact Airline Operations

Airlines operating services to, from and within Africa often experience significant challenges with funds not being repatriated.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports that $1.3 billion is being blocked by various governments as of end April 2025. Though this amount is significant, it is an improvement of 25%, compared with the $1.7 billion in blocked funds recorded in October 2024. That said, ten countries account for 80% of the total blocked funds, amounting to $1.03 billion.

Blocking Repatriation of Airline Revenues

The majority of the countries with the highest blocked funds are located in Africa.

Mozambique tops the list with $205 million in blocked funds. This is followed by the Central African Franc Zone. The zone, which uses a common currency comprises various independent states.

The countries include Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Unblocked funds from this zone totals $191 million.

In addition, Algeria comes with in $178 million, Angola with $84 million, Eritrea with $76 million, Zimbabwe with $68 million and Ethiopia with $44 million in blocked funds.

Also featuring in the top ten on the list, but located outside of Africa are: Lebanon with $142 million, Bangladesh with $92 million and Pakistan with $83 million.

Impact of Blocked Funds

Blocked funds is a significant obstacle to airline operations and poses a threat to the sustainability of airline operations. This could therefore threaten connectivity for passengers in parts of the world. In fact, in 2022, Emirates suspended its scheduled services to Nigeria over blocked revenues.

IATA has urged governments to remove all barriers preventing airlines from the timely repatriation of their revenues from ticket sales and other activities, in accordance with international agreements and treaty obligations.

“Ensuring the timely repatriation of revenues is vital for airlines to cover dollar-denominated expenses and maintain their operations. Delays and denials violate bilateral agreements and increase exchange rate risks. Reliable access to revenues is critical for any business—particularly airlines which operate on very thin margins. Economies and jobs rely on international connectivity. Governments must realize that it is a challenge for airlines to maintain connectivity when revenue repatriation is denied or delayed,” Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, said in a press release.

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Lorne Philipot

Lorne is a South Africa-based aviation journalist. He was captivated and fascinated by flying from the day he took his first airline flight. With a passion for aviation in his blood, he has flown to destinations in all corners of the globe. Lorne has traveled extensively and lived in various countries. Drawing on his travels and passion for aviation, Lorne enjoys writing about airlines, routes, networks, and new developments.

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