IATA Says Zimbabwe Owes Airlines $196 Million in Trapped Funds

(Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwe owes airlines about $196 million that’s stuck in the country due to a shortage of hard currency, according to the International Air Transport Association.

The last payment received by the industry body was in January, regional vice president for IATA in Africa, Muhammad Ali Albakri, said in an interview on Tuesday. The group held a meeting with Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa and will now finalize the payment plan, he added.

The country is struggling with shortages of foreign exchange including the U.S. dollar, which is needed to transfer the proceeds of local ticket sales to airlines.

To contact the reporter on this story: Godfrey Marawanyika in Harare at gmarawanyika@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Palazzo at apalazzo@bloomberg.net, John Bowker

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