FAAN RESTORES BOLT AIRPORT OPERATIONS AFTER KEYAMO’S INTERVENTION

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has restored Bolt’s operations at airports under its management following an intervention by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo.

The development followed complaints from passengers over the temporary disruption of e-hailing services and the resulting increase in airport transportation costs.

FAAN said it reached an operational agreement with Bolt after constructive engagements, clearing the company to resume services at FAAN-managed airports immediately.

The authority explained that its earlier concerns centred on the regulation of commercial and e-hailing vehicles within airport environments, including passenger solicitation, unregulated operations, random pick-ups and safety and security concerns.

FAAN said it had introduced the Airport Car Hire Rank Management System, known as ACHRAMS, to improve the management and visibility of authorised airport transportation services.

However, the authority stressed that ACHRAMS was not an e-hailing platform and was not intended to compete with Bolt, Uber or other mobility companies.

FAAN also clarified that the airport taxi fares that recently generated public concern were not newly imposed by the authority or introduced by ACHRAMS. It said the system mainly provided greater visibility around existing airport taxi rates.

The authority acknowledged that the temporary suspension of e-hailing services caused inconvenience for travellers and apologised to passengers affected by the disruption.

Keyamo had directed FAAN to urgently resolve the issue after concerns over rising airport transportation costs gained public attention.

FAAN said the agreement with Bolt demonstrated that airport security and regulatory requirements could be maintained while allowing passengers to retain access to convenient transportation options.

The authority added that discussions with other e-hailing operators were still ongoing and expressed confidence that outstanding issues would be resolved in the coming days.

FAAN maintained that passengers remained free to choose their preferred transportation options, provided the services operate within the approved airport framework.

The restoration of Bolt services is expected to give passengers another transportation option at FAAN-managed airports while the authority continues efforts to establish a regulated and accountable system for commercial transport services.