Seven of the ten countries and currency blocs which are the leading blockers of the repatriation of airline funds are in Africa. Top place on this list is now held by Mozambique. The list was issued by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global representative body for the airline industry, during its current (and eight-first) AGM, being held in New Delhi, India.

“Ensuring the timely repatriation of revenues is vital for airlines to cover dollar-denominated expenses and maintain their operations,” pointed out IATA director-general Willie Walsh. “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 realise that it is a challenge for airlines to maintain connectivity when revenue repatriation is denied or delayed.”

Currently, a global total of $1.3-billion of airline funds are blocked from repatriation. This was an 25% improvement over the state of affairs in October last year, when the total was $1.7-billion, but it is still a significant amount.

The top ten countries on IATA’s blocked airline funds list together account for 80% of the total amount of blocked funds, or $1.03-billion. The other three countries on the list are all Asian.

The countries and currency blocs on the list are Mozambique ($205-million), the Central African CFA Franc (XAF) Zone ($191-million), Algeria ($178-million), Lebanon ($142-million), Bangladesh ($92-million), Angola ($84-million), Pakistan ($83-million), Eritrea ($76-million), Zimbabwe ($68-million) and Ethiopia ($44-million). The XAF Zone is composed of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon; IATA does not specify which of these countries are responsible for the blocking of the funds.

Mozambique rose up the list to top place over the past nine months. In October last year, the country had blocked the repatriation of airline funds totalling $127-million.

On the other hand, Bangladesh and Pakistan have both significantly reduced the amounts of airline funds that they are blocking. In October 2024, Pakistan had been denying repatriation of $311-million and has now cut that to $83-million. Bangladesh cut its total of withheld airline funds from $196-million to $92-million over the same period.

Although not on the top ten list, Bolivia recorded the best improvement of all, in percentage terms – reducing its total of blocked airline funds from $42-million in October last year to zero, today.