Ethiopian Airlines has revealed it has $90m in ticket revenue awaiting repatriation from overseas markets, including $45m blocked in Russia because of financial sanctions imposed after the war in Ukraine.
Sanctions restricting Russian banks’ access to the SWIFT international payments network have prevented Ethiopian Airlines from transferring funds through its usual correspondent banks in the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, and Ethiopia. Ethiopian Airlines continues to operate daily flights to Russia and uses some ruble revenue to pay local expenses including fuel, crew salaries, ground handling and overflight fees, but the airline has been unable to remit its net earnings from the countr
The remaining $45m held outside Russia is not permanently frozen. In countries including Mozambique and Angola, foreign exchange shortages and delays in central-bank allocations have slowed transfers but funds continue to move as the airline submits monthly clearance documents and receives foreign currency allocations. The airline faces exchange-rate risk in those markets because local-currency devaluations can reduce the value of revenue awaiting conversion and transfer. According to IATA, $1.2 billion in airline revenues was blocked from repatriation worldwide by end-October 2025, with about 93pc of the blocked funds held in Africa and the Middle East.
IATA reports $1.2 billion in airline revenues were blocked from repatriation by October 2025.
