A year ago, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates was flying high on increased business activity between Africa and Asia with 27 African destinations and plans to link to almost every African market.

Africa accounted for about 10 percent of Emirates Airline’s global passengers and revenue, and the airline said it intended to add 10 new African destinations in 10 years.

Now Emirates is cutting back flights to Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, and more countries could have routes cut as economic challenges such as fuel and currency scarcity hurt profits, Reuters reported.

Emirates could reduce flight frequency to Africa or cut routes entirely if current economic and financial challenges on the continent continue, the company’s President said on Tuesday.

Emirates has cut its two daily flights to Lagos and Abuja to one, and started refueling its daily Abuja-bound flight in Accra, Ghana, a spokesman said.

Other airlines flying to Nigeria have started to refuel elsewhere because jet fuel supplies are expensive and scarce. Nigeria is struggling with a shortage of hard currency, Reuters reported.

“We’re reviewing the program to reflect on certain economic and financial difficulties not driven by us (but) of certain countries,” Emirates President Tim Clark told reporters Tuesday at an International Air Transport Association conference in Dubai, Gulf News reported. “We have to adjust our program.”

He did not name the routes that would be affected.

Low commodity prices, political uncertainty and weak foreign investor interest have taken their toll on major African economies, Gulf News reported. The International Monetary Fund downgraded its outlook for South Africa’s economy on Oct. 6 from a 1 percent growth forecast to 0.8 percent. Nigeria’s economy is expected to contract 1.7 percent.

At the 2014 Africa Global Business Forum in Dubai, Clark said Emirates planned to add 10 African destinations in 10 years, according to a report in AddisStandard.

“Many of these African markets are underserved,” said Hugh Frach, senior vice president of commercial operations for Europe, Africa and the Americas, How We Made It In Africa reported. “This is why we believe it is a very interesting market, and we see developing traffic flows between almost every African market and Asia in particular.”

Emirates has been building a presence in Africa since launching flights to Cairo in 1986, AddisStandard reported.

Emirates is the world’s largest airline by international passengers, Gulf News reported.

Due to inadequate airport infrastructure, many African airports can’t accommodate the Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger liner. Emirates has 67 in its fleet.