The airport authority says its dispute with e-hailing operators is centred on passenger safety, accountability, and commercial pick-ups within airport premises.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has rejected claims that its restrictions on e-hailing operations at airports contributed to Uber’s decision to leave Nigeria.
Speaking with journalists on Friday at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, amid renewed questions over the timing of Uber’s departure and the recent disagreement between FAAN and e-hailing operators.
Uber announced on 2 September that it was discontinuing operations in Nigeria after 12 years in the country, saying the decision followed a review of its evolving business priorities and investment focus across Africa.
PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported that the company specifically said its exit was not related to the recent FAAN directive on e-hailing operations at Nigerian airports.
FAAN Managing Director said the airport authority had no control over Uber’s wider operations in Nigeria.
“I can’t speak to their exit from Nigeria. I’m sure they have their own economic and regulatory considerations as to why they chose to exit,” Ms Kuku said.
She added that Uber had been considering its departure for some time and that airports accounted for only a small part of the company’s activities in Nigeria.
“So, it has nothing to do with FAAN. Again, the airport is just a small part of the wider area in which they operate within Nigeria,” she noted.
The controversy over e-hailing services at Nigerian airports began weeks before Uber’s departure.
On 30 July, FAAN directed airport managers to stop Uber and Bolt from conducting commercial operations at airports under its management pending the finalisation and execution of licence agreements with the companies.
The directive raised concerns among passengers and operators, particularly after travellers reported difficulty accessing familiar ride-hailing services and paying higher fares for alternative airport transportation.
PREMIUM TIMES reported at the time that the development also prompted Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, to direct FAAN to address passengers’ concerns. Bolt subsequently reached an operational agreement with FAAN and was cleared to resume services at airports managed by the authority.
FAAN later said the directive should not be interpreted as a blanket ban on e-hailing services.
The authority said its concern was how commercial transportation activities were conducted within a highly regulated airport environment, particularly issues of passenger safety, identification, accountability and solicitation.
Ms Kuku said the authority had received several complaints, particularly during the December holiday period, about passengers’ experiences with some e-hailing and car-hire services.
She explained that the complaints included intimidation, passengers being taken to unintended locations, and other incidents that raised concerns about the ability to identify drivers and hold them accountable.
According to her, there were also cases where some e-hailing drivers allegedly operated alongside car-hire operators and charged passengers higher fares.
“We also had situations where some Uber and Bolt drivers would get out of their cars under the guise of coming into the airport as e-hailing drivers, and then join the car-hire operators to charge higher fares,” she said.
She noted that the complaints prompted FAAN to seek greater regulatory oversight of commercial transportation within its airports.
The dispute also drew attention to FAAN’s Airport Car Hire Rank Management System, known as ACHRAMS.
Some passengers and industry observers had questioned whether the platform was designed to replace existing e-hailing services such as Uber and Bolt.
FAAN has repeatedly denied this.
The authority said ACHRAMS is not an e-hailing application but an airport-specific system designed to provide operational visibility, tracking, driver identification and oversight of commercial car-hire activities within FAAN-managed airports.
Ms Kuku said the system was introduced primarily to ensure passengers could identify the company and driver conveying them from the airport.
“The app that was developed was strictly focused on ensuring that passengers have visibility into who the car-hire companies are and who the driver taking them from Point A to Point B is.”
She stressed that FAAN does not operate the car-hire services or collect fares on behalf of drivers.
“FAAN does not collect money on behalf of the drivers. Those car-hire drivers are not FAAN drivers,” she said.
According to her, FAAN only provides passengers with indicative fares for their destinations, while passengers remain free to choose among pre-booked vehicles, e-hailing platforms, and car-hire services.
Ms Kuku said another major point of disagreement between FAAN and e-hailing companies was liability for drivers using their platforms, adding that the companies wanted dedicated pick-up areas at airports, which FAAN was willing to provide. Still, the authority also wanted them to accept greater responsibility for the conduct and safety of drivers operating through their platforms.
