United Airlines says it’s shutting down the Houston-to-Nigeria route because of weakness in the energy sector and problems in collecting money from tickets sold in Nigeria.
The Airlines is cancelling the service and the last flight will depart from Lagos on the 30th of June 2016. Airlines will stop flying to Nigeria next month, ending the carrier’s only route to Africa because of weakness in the energy sector and difficulty in collecting money from tickets sold in that country.
The daily route from Houston to Lagos had underachieved for years but was kept alive because of its importance to Texas-based customers, United Continental Holdings Inc. said in a note to employees Wednesday. The last flight will be June 30, after which Delta Air Lines Inc. will be the only major U.S. carrier flying to Africa.
Nigeria has restricted the amount of money that can be moved abroad after the global slump in oil prices depleted the government’s U.S. currency reserves. The country owed airlines about $575 million in air fares as of March 31, according to the International Air Transport Association.
“Repatriation has been a significant issue, as has been the downturn in the energy sector,” said United spokesman Jonathan Guerin, who confirmed the note’s authenticity.
Befoer the confirmatin United spokesperson, there has been speculation for some time but the confirmation came tonight via social media after @united on Twitter responded to a question from a Nigerian traveller.
With crashed oil prices and a flailing economy, the Lagos – Houston route which was once a favourite especially for oil sector workers and executives has suffered a major decline in patronage. In addition, airlines operating in Nigeria have all faced a hard time with foreign exchange restrictions. Recently, Iberia, the official airline of Spain exited Nigeria as well. It is speculated that other major airlines will follow suit.
@royaltyuso This is true, Eta. Our last flights will depart June 29th from Houston, and June 30th from Lagos. ^SV
— United (@united) May 26, 2016
@royaltyuso The demand was not enough to keep the route running successfully. We’re also moving our 787 plane over to new routes. ^SV
— United (@united) May 26, 2016
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