The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has cleared Bolt to resume operations at airports under its management after passengers raised concerns over the disruption of e-hailing services and the rising cost of airport transportation.
The authority said it reached an operational agreement with Bolt following discussions aimed at establishing a workable framework for the ride-hailing company’s activities within airport premises. Bolt can now resume services immediately at FAAN-managed airports.
The decision comes amid intense public attention over airport transport costs, particularly after a reported ₦30,000 fare for a journey from Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos to a hotel in Ikeja. FAAN said the fare was not newly imposed by the authority or introduced through its Airport Car Hire Rank Management System (ACHRAMS). Brandspur Banking News Desk reports that the clarification followed widespread concerns about the cost difference between airport taxis and conventional e-hailing services.
FAAN said it had listened to passengers’ concerns and apologised for the inconvenience caused by the temporary disruption. It maintained that its efforts were aimed at addressing longstanding problems associated with commercial transport operations at airports, including passenger solicitation, touting, random pick-ups and concerns around safety, security and accountability.
The authority also rejected suggestions that ACHRAMS was created to compete with Bolt, Uber or other e-hailing platforms. According to FAAN, the system was introduced to improve the visibility, monitoring and management of authorised airport car-hire operators rather than to determine or impose taxi fares.
The controversy over airport transport intensified after travellers reported significantly higher fares when access to familiar e-hailing platforms became difficult. In one widely reported case, a journey from the Lagos airport to Ikeja was quoted at ₦30,000 through an airport taxi, while checks by PUNCH showed lower prices on other platforms, including ₦6,900 on one e-hailing service and ₦4,200 for UberX.
For travellers, Bolt’s return could restore an additional transport option when arriving at or departing from FAAN-managed airports. The move also signals a shift towards allowing established ride-hailing companies to operate within the airport environment under agreed regulatory and security requirements.
FAAN said it remains in discussions with other e-hailing operators and expects the outstanding engagements to be concluded in the coming days. The authority stressed that it supports competition and does not intend to create a monopoly in airport transportation.
The latest development follows an earlier FAAN clarification that it had not imposed a blanket ban on Uber, Bolt or other e-hailing services. The authority had said its objective was to ensure that commercial transport providers operating within airports had an appropriate framework covering operational visibility, vehicle and driver accountability, passenger safety and security.
FAAN said passengers remain free to choose from authorised transport services that meet their needs, provided those services operate within the safety, security and accountability requirements governing Nigerian airports.
