The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has denied reports that Uber, Bolt and other e-hailing platforms have been banned from operating at airports under its management, amid growing controversy over the introduction of the Airport Car Hire Rank Management System and complaints that passengers are being charged significantly higher fares by airport car-hire operators.
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The clarification followed reports and social media posts alleging that conventional e-hailing services had been shut out of airport premises, particularly at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, leaving travellers with airport taxis as their only option.
FAAN, however, said the Airport Car Hire Rank Management System, ACHRAMS, was not designed to replace Uber, Bolt or other e-hailing services but to regulate commercial pick-ups and car-hire activities within airport environments.
According to an FAQ document provided by the authority, FAAN remains responsible for airport operating rules, participating car-hire companies provide transportation services, authorised drivers conduct trips, while ACHRAMS supplies the digital infrastructure for controls and records.
Asked specifically whether the system prevents Uber or Bolt from operating, the document stated: “No. Its operating scope concerns commercial airport pick-ups within FAAN-managed airport environments.”
A FAAN source also dismissed claims that the authority had launched a separate “FAANTaxi” service that would enjoy exclusive rights to transport passengers from airports, saying there was “nothing like that.”
The controversy intensified on Wednesday after passengers at the Lagos airport complained of difficulty accessing Uber and Bolt services within the terminal environment.
Several reports alleged that passengers were being directed towards airport taxi operators charging substantially higher fares.
One traveller said he was quoted ₦30,000 for a journey from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport to the Radisson Blu Hotel in Ikeja GRA, a trip he said had previously cost him about ₦8,000 through an e-hailing platform.
Other reported airport taxi prices included between ₦55,000 and ₦70,000 for journeys from the airport to Lekki Phase 2, compared with previous fares of between ₦25,000 and ₦35,000, while some trips to the Ikeja business district were reportedly quoted at ₦30,000.
Checks conducted around the airport, however, indicated that e-hailing drivers were still operating in the vicinity.
An Uber driver said he received a pick-up request from MMIA through the regular Uber Driver application and had not been required to use ACHRAMS or alter his normal procedure.
Another person working around the airport’s cargo and domestic terminal areas similarly said normal e-hailing pick-ups and drop-offs were continuing and that he had not observed widespread passenger stranding.
FAAN explained that ACHRAMS is an airport-specific system intended to regulate car-hire ranks, dispatch operations, driver and vehicle identification and general operational oversight.
The platform is designed to register drivers and vehicles, organise queues and record trips while giving FAAN information about demand, waiting times, cancellations, incidents and operators’ performance.
Passengers are not required to download an application to use the service and may access approved vehicles through authorised dispatch desks.
ACHRAMS itself does not process payments, with fares agreed between passengers and drivers or car-hire operators.
The dispute over airport transport arrangements has been building for several months.
In July, FAAN clarified that vehicles participating in the airport car-hire framework were required to have been manufactured in 2012 or later, contrary to reports suggesting that only vehicles produced from 2020 would be accepted.
The authority said the requirement had been communicated since 2024, with an initial compliance deadline extended to June 2026 and consideration subsequently given to another extension until October 1.
FAAN also stated on August 20 that it was working with Uber, Bolt and other operators to establish an operating framework for airports rather than attempting to eliminate e-hailing services.
The authority cited security, safety, accountability, operational visibility and the problem of passenger solicitation as reasons for introducing a more regulated system.
It maintained that the process should not be interpreted as a blanket ban and said discussions with the various operators were continuing.
The latest controversy, however, has been driven largely by the difference between fares quoted by airport car-hire operators and prices displayed on conventional e-hailing platforms.
Travel content creator Chris Joondeph, known online as “Authentic Travelling,” shared a video documenting his experience after arriving at the Lagos airport and asking for a ride to the Radisson Blu Hotel in Ikeja.
An airport car-hire operator quoted him ₦30,000.
“Radisson, that’s in GRA Ikeja. It’s just 30,000,” the operator was heard telling him.
Joondeph said he had previously paid between ₦6,000 and ₦8,000 for the same journey using Uber and declined the quoted airport fare.
“It costs 30,000 to Ikeja, when it normally used to cost me at most 8,000 naira. Me, I sabi. I won’t be paying that,” he said.
He subsequently walked outside the airport environment and ordered an inDrive vehicle, saying the fare for the journey was ₦6,100.
“I just ordered an inDrive, which was the first one to come. So he’s a couple minutes away, and it was 6,100 naira is what I’m going to pay to get home,” he said.
A separate fare comparison reportedly showed an equally substantial difference.
ACHRAMS listed airport-to-city-centre journeys at between ₦10,000 and ₦20,000, suburban trips at between ₦20,000 and ₦30,000, and interstate journeys at between ₦30,000 and ₦60,000.
For the journey from MMIA to the Radisson Hotel in Ikeja, Bolt reportedly showed a fare of ₦6,900, while Uber listed ₦4,200 for UberX and ₦5,800 for its Priority service.
Based on those figures, a ₦30,000 airport car-hire fare would be approximately 335 per cent higher than Bolt, 614 per cent higher than UberX and 417 per cent higher than Uber Priority for the same destination.
The disparity triggered criticism online, with some Nigerians accusing the airport transport arrangement of exposing passengers to excessive charges.
An X user identified as Captainbee described the ₦30,000 quotation as “exploitation,” while another user questioned how a relatively short journey from the airport to Ikeja GRA could attract such a charge.
Another commentator described the fare as “a rip off” and linked the controversy to claims that Uber had been prevented from picking passengers directly from within the airport.
Other social media users similarly questioned whether the pricing system would be sustainable, with one remarking that the airport itself is located in Ikeja and questioning why a trip within the same general area could cost ₦30,000.
The controversy appears to centre partly on restrictions governing direct commercial pick-ups inside airport-controlled areas while FAAN and e-hailing companies continue discussions over the conditions under which their drivers will operate within the security and regulatory framework.
FAAN nevertheless insists that such operational restrictions do not amount to a blanket prohibition of Uber, Bolt or other ride-hailing services.
The authority said ACHRAMS was established specifically to regulate airport car-hire operations and was “not intended to compete with or replicate the services provided by Uber, Bolt or any other e-hailing platform.”
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