The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that US$1.7 billion in airline funds are blocked from repatriation by governments as of the end of October 2024.

The trade association of the world's airlines said this is a small improvement compared to the US$1.8 billion reported at the end of April. 

"Over the last six months, we have seen significant reductions in blocked funds in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Algeria and Ethiopia. At the same time, amounts are rising in the XAF /XOF  zones and Mozambique. Bolivia has also emerged as a problem, where repatriating sales revenues is becoming increasingly difficult and unsustainable for airlines," commented Willie Walsh, director-general at IATA.

"This unfortunate game of 'whack-a-mole' is unacceptable. Governments must remove all barriers for airlines to repatriate their revenues from ticket sales and other activities in accordance with international agreements and treaty obligations," Walsh added.

The IATA director-general noted that no country wants to lose aviation connectivity, which drives economic prosperity, but he pointed out that if airlines cannot repatriate their revenues, they cannot be expected to provide a service.

"Economies will suffer if connectivity collapses. So, it is in everyone?�s interest, including governments, to ensure that airlines can repatriate their funds smoothly," Walsh said.

IATA said nine countries account for 83% of the airline industry's blocked funds, amounting to US$1.43 billion.

[Source: IATA] 

In the statement, IATA noted that Pakistan continues to top the list of blocked funds countries at US$311 million. This is an improvement from US$411 million in April 2024. The main issue is the system of audit and tax exemption certificates, which is causing long processing delays. 

Bangladesh has also seen the amount of blocked funds decrease to US$196 million (from US$320 million in April). IATA said the Central Bank needs to continue to prioritize airlines' access to foreign exchange in line with internationally treated obligations. 

Meanwhile, IATA said about US$1 billion of airline money blocked from repatriation is in African countries — or about 59% of the global tally.

It said that over the last six months, there were "significant reductions" in blocked funds in Algeria (US$193 million from US$286 million in April) and Ethiopia (US$43 million from US$149 million in April).

At the same time, XAF Zone (+US$84 million), Mozambique (+US$84 million) and XOF Zone (+US$73 million) contributed to the largest increases. 

"Bolivia is new to the list of blocked fund countries," IATA said. "A further deterioration in the availability of foreign exchange, particularly the US dollar, has resulted in an estimated US$42 million in airline funds being blocked in the country."