Airport authority says agreement with e-hailing firm will preserve passenger choice while strengthening safety and regulatory oversight….
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has restored Bolt’s operations at airports under its management following an intervention by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.
The decision comes after widespread complaints from passengers over the temporary suspension of e-hailing services and the resulting increase in airport transportation costs.
Keyamo had directed FAAN to urgently address concerns over what passengers described as exorbitant taxi fares at airports.
In a post on his X account, the minister said the issue had been resolved following his directive to the airport authority.
FAAN subsequently announced that it had reached an agreement with Bolt on an operational framework that would allow the e-hailing company to resume services immediately at airports managed by the authority.
The announcement was contained in a statement signed by FAAN’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, on Thursday.
According to the authority, the agreement followed discussions with Bolt aimed at addressing regulatory, safety and security concerns surrounding the operation of commercial and e-hailing vehicles at airports.
FAAN said it had been working for several years to address issues including passenger solicitation, touting, unregulated operations, random pick-ups and concerns over safety, security and accountability.
The authority introduced the Airport Car Hire Rank Management System, known as ACHRAMS, as part of efforts to regulate authorised airport car-hire services.
FAAN, however, clarified that ACHRAMS was not an e-hailing platform and was not established to compete with operators such as Bolt and Uber.
The authority said the system was designed specifically to manage airport car-hire ranks and authorised operations within the airport environment.
FAAN also denied suggestions that the taxi fares that recently attracted public attention were newly introduced by the authority or imposed through ACHRAMS.
It explained that the airport taxi rates had existed independently of the system, adding that the role of ACHRAMS was to provide greater visibility and transparency around existing fares.
The authority acknowledged that passengers had become accustomed to lower fares available through e-hailing platforms and that the temporary suspension of such services had made the difference in transportation costs more noticeable.
FAAN apologised to passengers for the inconvenience caused by the suspension.
It maintained that its actions were motivated by regulatory, safety and security considerations rather than economic interests.
The authority said the resolution with Bolt demonstrated that airport security and regulatory requirements could be maintained without limiting passengers’ access to convenient transportation options.
FAAN added that discussions with other e-hailing operators were still ongoing and expressed optimism that the outstanding engagements would be concluded in the coming days.
The authority further reaffirmed that passengers remained free to choose their preferred transportation options, provided the services operate within the approved airport framework.
FAAN said passenger safety, security, convenience and the overall airport experience would remain central to its decisions.
