ABUJA, Nigeria (XOL Africa) — The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has cleared Bolt to resume operations at airports under its management after reaching an agreement with the ride-hailing company, weeks after a disruption of e-hailing services raised concerns over higher transportation costs and inconvenience for passengers.
FAAN said Thursday that it had reached an “agreeable operational framework” with Bolt following engagements between the two parties.
The authority said the arrangement would allow Bolt to operate while complying with airport security and regulatory requirements.
“We sincerely apologise for the difficulties this caused our passengers,” FAAN said in a statement signed by its Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbegire.
The authority added that it had “listened, reflected and made the necessary adjustments.”
The dispute followed the introduction of FAAN’s Airport Car Hire Rank Management System, known as ACHRAMS, a digital system designed to regulate commercial transportation at airports.
FAAN said the system was introduced after years of concerns over passenger solicitation and touting, unregulated commercial transport, random pickups and safety, security and accountability issues involving vehicles operating within airport premises.
The authority said the proliferation of drivers operating across multiple e-hailing platforms had also complicated oversight of commercial transportation at airports.
But the implementation of ACHRAMS triggered resistance among some airport taxi operators, who raised concerns about its requirements and the cost of complying with the reforms.
A viral video in which airport taxi drivers appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene further intensified public attention on the dispute. One driver alleged that operators were being required to acquire vehicles manufactured from 2020, with such vehicles costing between 18 million naira and 30 million naira.
FAAN defended the system, saying it was not intended to compete with or replace e-hailing companies.
“ACHRAMS is not an e-hailing application and was never conceived as a competitor to Uber, Bolt or any other mobility platform,” the authority said.
FAAN said it supported competition and had no intention of creating a monopoly in airport transportation.
The dispute also drew attention to airport taxi fares, as passengers compared the prevailing taxi rates with lower fares available through e-hailing applications.
FAAN said the fares that became the subject of public discussion were not newly introduced by the authority or created through ACHRAMS.
According to the authority, the fares existed before the system and had not changed substantially.
“What ACHRAMS introduced was greater visibility and transparency around the prevailing airport-taxi rates, making the cost more readily apparent to passengers,” FAAN said.
It acknowledged that the comparison with lower e-hailing fares had heightened concerns among travellers.
“FAAN recognises, however, that the comparison with the lower fares passengers had become accustomed to through e-hailing platforms understandably heightened public concern,” it said.
With the agreement reached with Bolt, FAAN said the ride-hailing company was cleared to resume operations immediately at airports managed by the authority.
FAAN said the agreement demonstrated that airport security and regulatory requirements could coexist with passengers’ access to e-hailing services.
The authority said it was also in discussions with other e-hailing operators and expected to conclude the outstanding engagements in the coming days.
FAAN reiterated that passengers should be able to choose among available transportation options at airports.
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