The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has defended its decision to streamline commercial taxi operations at airports, saying the move is driven by the need to ensure passenger safety, accountability and security rather than to shield conventional airport taxis from competition.
The agency’s position follows concerns from e-hailing operators, including Uber and Bolt, over restrictions affecting their operations at Nigerian airports.
FAAN’s Director, Public Affairs and Corporate Protocol, Henry Agbebire, said the issue should not be reduced to whether passengers should be allowed to use e-hailing services. Rather, the question is how commercial transportation can operate responsibly within a highly regulated airport environment.
According to him, passengers arriving from different parts of the world must be able to leave the airport safely, just as departing passengers should be processed seamlessly to their aircraft. Ground transportation is therefore part of the airport’s broader responsibility to passengers.
Agbebire said airports cannot simply function as unrestricted pick-up points because thousands of passengers, employees, vehicles and service providers interact within security-sensitive environments.
He explained that commercial vehicles operating at airports must be identifiable and accountable, allowing authorities to determine, when necessary, the identity of the driver and vehicle, the location of the pick-up and the circumstances surrounding an incident.
“If a passenger reports an incident involving a vehicle that picked him or her up at an airport, the relevant question cannot simply be whether the trip was booked through an app,” he said.
FAAN’s Airport Car Hire Rank Management System (ACHRAMS), he added, was developed to provide operational visibility and tracking of commercial transportation within airports. It was not intended to compete with e-hailing platforms or create an alternative ride-hailing service.
The system is also aimed at addressing longstanding concerns over unregulated commercial activities, passenger solicitation and touting, while supporting the accountable management of applicable airport charges.
Agbebire acknowledged that e-hailing platforms have transformed urban transportation and provide passengers with convenient and often affordable travel options. He also rejected suggestions that FAAN’s policy was designed to protect traditional airport taxis from competition.
Whether a vehicle belongs to an airport taxi operator, an e-hailing company or another authorised commercial provider, he said, the same basic standards should apply: safety, security, identification, accountability and orderly operations.
He further acknowledged concerns that restrictions could temporarily lead to higher fares or reduced transportation availability, but argued that convenience should not come at the expense of passenger protection.
FAAN is currently engaging Uber, Bolt and other e-hailing operators to determine how they can be incorporated into the agency’s approved airport transportation framework.
Agbebire said confrontation would serve little purpose, describing collaboration as the preferred path forward.
“The debate should therefore not be framed as FAAN versus Uber or FAAN versus Bolt,” he said. “It should be about finding the right balance between two things that should never be presented as mutually exclusive: passenger convenience and passenger safety.”
