The National Association of Nigeria Travel Agents has strongly condemned the continued sale of airline tickets in US dollars within Nigeria, calling it an affront to the country’s sovereignty and a threat to the stability of the local economy.
NANTA President, Yinka Folarin, decried the practice by some foreign airlines, describing it as anti-trade, disrespectful, and harmful to the nation’s aviation industry. He disclosed this during a radio interview monitored by our correspondent on Saturday.
Folarin stressed that such actions have contributed to the rise in ticket prices, further straining passengers and weakening local travel businesses across Nigeria. He called on the Nigerian government to assert its sovereignty by mandating airlines to accommodate Naira transactions in their booking systems.
“The naira is stabilising, and we must respect it. There’s no need for dollar-only trade in this market anymore,” Folarin said. “The Central Bank of Nigeria is on top of the situation, and there’s liquidity and transparency. We should be congratulating the CBN and assisting the government to support the naira.”
Folarin also warned against potential job losses if the practice continues. He raised alarm over the growing trend of cross-border ticket sales, where foreign-based agents offer lower fares for routes operating within the Nigerian market.
“Some agents outside the country are offering lower fares for routes originating in Nigeria. It’s our market, but they undercut us from overseas. This is not just unprofessional, it’s exploitative,” he stated.
Citing British Airways as a positive example, Folarin praised the airline’s policy of giving booking priority based on the point of commencement, ensuring that Nigeria-based bookings are treated with proper territorial respect.
He said, “BA has zero tolerance for cross-border trading. They’ve set systems to prioritize Nigeria as the point of sale when the journey starts here. That’s how it should be.”
Folarin also highlighted visa racketeering as another issue tarnishing Nigeria’s image abroad. He emphasized that the majority of culprits are not NANTA members, stating that only about 20 per cent of known racketeers are registered travel agents.
Reacting to the developments, a South Africa-based aviation expert, Dr Wole Oyebade, called on the Nigerian government to show a deeper understanding of the issues and step in to protect the country’s tourism and travel market.
“Cross-border ticketing is part of international trade, but the Nigerian government needs to understand its implications. We must appreciate the economic worth of our travel sector and defend it diplomatically and economically,” Oyebade said.
He warned that without a coordinated policy response, Nigeria risks losing control of a significant part of its aviation economy to foreign players who operate without regulatory oversight.
