The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has cleared Bolt to resume operations at its airports after reaching an agreement with the ride-hailing company on how it will operate within the airport environment.
FAAN also apologised to passengers who experienced inconvenience during the temporary disruption of e-hailing services, following widespread concerns over the cost of airport transportation.
The development was announced in a statement issued on Thursday by Henry Agbebire, FAAN’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection.
The authority said the agreement followed constructive discussions with Bolt aimed at addressing concerns around safety, security, accountability and the management of commercial transportation at Nigerian airports.
“The Authority is therefore pleased to announce that, following constructive engagements, FAAN and Bolt have reached an agreeable operational framework, and Bolt is cleared to commence its services at FAAN-managed airports immediately.”
The controversy surrounding the restrictions intensified after passengers complained about the high cost of airport transportation.
In one widely circulated video on X, a passenger claimed that the Airport Car Hire Rank Management System (ACHRAMS) quoted N30,000 for a journey that would ordinarily cost about N8,000 through an e-hailing service.
FAAN, however, said the fares highlighted in the public discussions were not newly imposed by the authority or created by ACHRAMS.
According to FAAN, airport taxi fares existed before the introduction of ACHRAMS, while the system simply provided greater visibility around existing airport car-hire rates. The authority acknowledged that the difference between those fares and the lower prices passengers had become accustomed to through e-hailing platforms contributed to the public backlash.
FAAN also clarified that ACHRAMS is not an e-hailing platform and was never designed to compete with Bolt, Uber or other ride-hailing services.
“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 the system was introduced to provide greater structure, visibility and accountability for authorised airport car-hire operations.
FAAN said it had been dealing with challenges involving commercial and e-hailing vehicles at airports for nearly a decade, including passenger solicitation, touting, random pick-ups, unregulated operations and safety and accountability concerns.
It added that some drivers operate across multiple platforms, making it necessary for the authority to have better visibility over commercial transportation within airport premises.
The authority stressed that its actions were driven by regulatory, safety and security concerns, rather than an attempt to control airport taxi fares or create a monopoly in airport transportation.
“FAAN supports healthy competition and does not seek to create or promote a monopoly in airport transportation.”
FAAN acknowledged the concerns raised by travellers over the higher transportation costs and inconvenience experienced while e-hailing services were disrupted.
“We sincerely apologise for the difficulties this caused our passengers.”
The authority said the agreement with Bolt would allow the company to operate while complying with the security and operational requirements of FAAN-managed airports.
FAAN also disclosed that discussions with other e-hailing operators were ongoing and expressed confidence that the remaining engagements would be concluded in the coming days.
The development follows an earlier clarification by FAAN that it had not imposed a blanket ban on e-hailing services such as Bolt and Uber, but was working with the operators to establish an appropriate framework for their activities at airports.
FAAN said passengers would remain free to choose from available transportation options that best meet their needs, provided the operators comply with the applicable airport requirements.
The authority said passenger safety, security, convenience and overall experience would remain central to its management of transportation services at Nigerian airports.
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