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Dhaka: Over the last six months, there has been a reduction of USD 104 million in airline funds blocked from repatriation in Bangladesh, said the International Air Transport Association in a notice on June 1.
As of end April 2025, Bangladesh has seen the amount of airline blocked funds reduce to USD 92 million from USD 196 million in October 2024, according to IATA.
However, the nation still stands among the top five countries (fifth to be exact, compared to third previously) blocking majority of the total blocked airline funds globally.
A total of USD 1.3 billion in airline funds are blocked from repatriation by governments worldwide as of end April 2025. This is a significant amount, although it is an improvement of 25 percent compared to the USD 1.7 billion reported for October 2024, as per the association.
IATA urged governments to remove all barriers preventing airlines from the timely repatriation of their revenues from ticket sales and other activities in accordance with international agreements and treaty obligations.
10 countries account for 80 percent of the total blocked funds, amounting to USD 1.03 billion: Mozambique USD 205 million, XAF Zone USD 191 million, Algeria USD 178 million, Lebanon USD 142 million, Bangladesh USD 92 million, Angola USD 84 million, Pakistan USD 83 million, Eritrea USD 76 million, Zimbabwe USD 68 million, and Ethiopia USD 44 million.
Apart from Bangladesh, Pakistan, previously in the top five blocked funds countries, also have made notable progress in clearing their backlog as well, to USD 83 million from USD 311 million in October 2024, claimed IATA.
Mozambique has climbed up to the top of blocked funds countries, withholding USD 205 million from airlines, compared to USD 127 million in October 2024. Africa and the Middle East region accounts for 85 percent of total blocked funds at USD 1.1 billion as of end April 2025.
The most significant improvement was noted in Bolivia, fully clearing its backlog that stood at USD 42 million at end October 2024.
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