Ethiopian Airlines cannot get cash out from some African states

State-owned Ethiopian Airlines is unable to repatriate about $220 million held in local currency in Nigeria, Egypt and some other African states because of foreign exchange shortages in those nations, the company's chief executive said on Tuesday.

Tewolde Gebremariam told Reuters that this was partly because countries such as Nigeria had been hit by recent falls in oil prices, which was reducing foreign exchange inflows.

This also meant cash held in the local currencies was losing value, he said.

"This is a huge challenge for us," the CEO added.