Despite the release of $265 million by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to reduce the amount of Airlines trapped in the country, Delta Air Lines said it will suspend its flights between New York JFK airport and Lagos effective October 4, 2022.

The airline said in a statement that the route suspension was to fit into “the current demand environment.”

“Delta is suspending its nonstop service between New York-JFK and Lagos to fit the current demand environment.

“The airline continues to operate service between Lagos and Atlanta and offers onward connections to New York and other cities across the United States.

“Customers impacted by our suspended New York-JFK to Lagos service will be re-accommodated on Delta operated flights or services operated by our joint venture partners. Delta remains committed to the Nigeria market,” the airline said in the statement.

Last week, the CBN released the sum of $265 million to airlines operating in and out of the country, to settle outstanding ticket sales in a bid to arrest the crisis in the aviation industry due to the inability of some airlines to repatriate their revenue from the country.

Prior to the central bank announcement, the United Arab Emirates carrier, Emirates Airlines announced the suspension of flight operations to and from Nigeria from next month due to its inability to repatriate its revenue from the country.

It was not clear if the airline has since changed its position after the central bank foreign exchange released.