The National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) has commended the federal government and its relevant agencies for the speedy resolution of the vexatious trapped funds of foreign airlines in Nigeria, noting that the gesture positively deepens the image of Nigeria as a destination with global rubrics on trade and investments.

President of NANTA, Yinka Folami, disclosed in Lagos that his association whose members and the Nigerian travelling public bore the major brunt of the impact of the trapped funds, is impressed with the collective strategic intervention of the federal government through the Central Bank of Nigeria, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission ( FCCPC), noting that their synergy and collaboration contributed to the current stability in the travel trade market in Nigeria.

The association said the International Air Transport Association (IATA) at its meeting in Dubai recently, also thumbed up the commitment of Nigeria to fully settle the issue of trapped funds of its members, appealing that the outstanding $19 million be sorted out and paid, a development NANTA also thinks is desirable to further stabilise fare pricing in Nigeria.

"We sincerely urge the CBN to help clear the balance of 19 million dollars owed the foreign airlines and we also expect the foreign airlines to reciprocate by being further receptive in lowering fares and also to work collaboratively to stop the migration of Nigerian travel trade opportunities to cross border trading," Folami said.

Proposing stronger and more enduring environment for stable growth of the market, NANTA president urged IATA to be more sensitive to the issues of point of sales and the worrisome shrinking Nigerian market, driven by the pattern of application of return on equity by IATA.