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United Airlines has said that it will stop flights to Nigeria next month, citing weakness in the energy sector and difficulties in collecting money from tickets sold.
The American airline said its last flight will be on June 30.
Nigeria is United Airline’s only route to Africa. When it finally pulls out, Delta Air Lines Inc. will be the only major U.S. carrier flying to Africa.
The airline said its daily route from Houston to Lagos had not met target for years but was kept alive because of its importance to Texas-based customers.
United spokesman Jonathan Guerin was quoted as saying:
“Repatriation has been a significant issue, as has been the downturn in the energy sector.
“Passengers can still fly to Nigeria on United’s trans-Atlantic business partner, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, through a connection in Frankfurt.
“The Boeing Co. 787 serving Lagos will be used on the San Francisco-to-Tel Aviv route, which will expand to daily in October from three times weekly.”
It is thought that some of the difficulties being experienced by the airline may include a restriction by the government on the amount of money that can be moved abroad after the global slump in oil prices depleted foreign reserves.