Bolt has been cleared to resume operations at airports managed by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), following an intervention by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.
Mr Keyamo, in a statement on Thursday, said he had directed FAAN to urgently address concerns over what passengers described as exorbitant increases in airport taxi fares following the disruption of e-hailing services.
After the minister’s intervention, FAAN announced that it had reached an “agreeable operational framework” with Bolt, clearing the company to resume its services at FAAN-managed airports immediately.
The development followed days of controversy over the operation of e-hailing platforms at Nigerian airports, with passengers complaining about higher transportation costs after they were unable to access services they had previously relied on.
How the dispute started
The controversy followed FAAN’s efforts to establish a new operational framework for commercial and e-hailing vehicles operating within airport premises.
An internal FAAN memo dated 30 July directed airport managers to ensure that Bolt and Uber ceased commercial operations at FAAN-managed airports pending the finalisation of licence agreements with the e-hailing companies.
However, on 20 August, FAAN said it had not imposed a blanket ban on Uber, Bolt or other e-hailing platforms, but said discussions were ongoing with operators to establish a workable framework for their operations.
The clarification followed reports of restrictions affecting e-hailing services at some FAAN-managed airports, including the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
FAAN said its concern was not to limit passengers’ transportation choices but to ensure that commercial transport services operating within airport premises complied with safety, security and accountability requirements.
The authority said airports were highly regulated environments and that it needed adequate visibility of vehicles, drivers and operators working within them.
FAAN said it had been dealing with problems associated with commercial and e-hailing vehicles at airports for nearly a decade, including passenger solicitation, touting, unregulated operations and random pick-ups.
It said the challenges had made it necessary to strengthen the management of commercial transportation within airport premises.
