Under international rules governing civil aviation, an airline that has sold tickets in that country must obtain permission from its government to convert the money into foreign currency and recover the money.
However, according to a statement made in late October by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which has 340 members representing more than 80 percent of global air traffic, "about 1 billion dollars of airline money is held in African countries."
IATA says 235 million dollars is blocked in the Central African CFA franc zone (Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic and Chad) and 73 million dollars in the West African CFA franc zone (Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo).
The amounts "are increasing," according to IATA.
These funds totaled 193 million dollars in Algeria, 127 million dollars in Mozambique, 80 million dollars in Angola and 75 million dollars in Eritrea.
Pakistan remains the country where the largest amounts are being held, at 311 million dollars, but this amount has fallen by 100 million dollars since April.
The total amount has fallen slightly since the end of April, when it was 1.8 billion dollars, according to the Association's data.
While acknowledging "significant" improvements in Pakistan, but also in Bangladesh, Algeria and Ethiopia, IATA Director General Willie Walsh lamented an "unacceptable game of cat and mouse" by the countries concerned.
"Governments must remove all obstacles to allow airlines to repatriate their ticket revenues (...) in accordance with international agreements and treaties," he added, quoted in a press release.
Otherwise, "airlines cannot be expected to continue their activities" in countries affected by these blockades, and he warned: "Their economies will suffer if they are no longer connected by air" to the rest of the world.
