The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, has cleared ride-hailing company Bolt to resume operations at its airports after both parties reached an agreement to resolve a dispute that had disrupted services and triggered complaints from passengers.
FAAN announced the decision in a statement issued on Thursday, August 27, by its Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire.
The authority said the dispute followed years of discussions over safety, security and accountability involving commercial and e-hailing vehicles operating at Nigerian airports.
According to FAAN, some of the concerns centred on unregulated passenger pickups and solicitation, including cases involving drivers operating across multiple ride-hailing platforms.
The authority also rejected claims that it controls fares charged to passengers, maintaining that airport transportation rates existed independently of its recent regulatory measures.
“We sincerely apologise for the difficulties this caused our passengers,” Henry Agbebire, director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, confirmed in a statement made available to Techeconomy, adding that FAAN had “listened, reflected and made the necessary adjustments.”
FAAN said the concerns surrounding airport transportation led to the introduction of the Airport Car-Hire Management System, ACHRAMS.
The authority stressed that ACHRAMS is an airport car-hire management system and not an e-hailing application. It said the system was not designed to compete with Bolt, Uber or other mobility platforms.
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FAAN also responded to criticism over airport taxi fares, saying rates referenced in recent public discussions were neither newly introduced by the authority nor created by ACHRAMS.
It said the fares were largely consistent with rates that had previously existed but acknowledged that the system had made them more visible to passengers.
According to FAAN, this increased visibility led to greater scrutiny because the airport taxi rates were being compared with the generally lower fares offered through e-hailing platforms.
The authority said it was still engaging other e-hailing operators and expected discussions to be concluded “in the coming days”. It did not identify the platforms still affected by the dispute.
FAAN maintained that its measures were motivated by regulatory, safety and security concerns rather than commercial interests.
The authority also reiterated that it had no intention of establishing a monopoly over transportation services at airports.
It apologised to passengers for the inconvenience caused by the temporary disruption and thanked them for their patience and understanding.