Lagos Airport has lifted a ban on Uber and Bolt ride-hailing pickups after passengers protested fares as high as 30,000 naira to Ikeja, approximately five times the standard rate, under a government-linked transport system introduced by airport authorities.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria introduced the restrictions through its ACHRAMS queue system, which directed arriving passengers away from app-based ride-hailing services and toward the government-linked platform operating at its terminals across the country. The system had been in development as part of FAAN’s broader effort to formalize ground transportation arrangements at major Nigerian airports.
FAAN stated that the ACHRAMS system was designed to resolve safety concerns tied to unregulated pickups at airport terminals, where drivers operating outside any formal queue structure had created recurring disorder and security risks for passengers.
The authority confirmed that the decision to restrict Uber and Bolt access was not made arbitrarily but followed internal assessments of terminal safety conditions, with ACHRAMS positioned as the structured, regulated alternative for passenger ground transportation. Officials argued that a managed queue would reduce the congestion and confrontations that had become commonplace in terminal pickup zones.
However, passengers who pushed through the ACHRAMS system on the day the restrictions took effect encountered fares of 30,000 naira for trips to Ikeja, a route that normally costs a fraction of that amount through standard ride-hailing applications available on the market.
The pricing gap triggered immediate and widespread public outcry, with travelers at the airport voicing opposition to what they described as a compulsory switch to a more expensive service for which they had received no prior notification or preparation. Social media amplified the complaints rapidly, with videos and accounts from affected passengers circulating widely and intensifying pressure on FAAN to respond.
Within 24 hours of the restrictions taking effect, Bolt reached an agreement with FAAN and resumed pickup operations at airports under the authority’s control, restoring access for passengers who preferred the platform over the government-linked alternative.
Bolt confirmed its return to FAAN airport terminals following the agreement, and the company issued an apology to passengers affected by the disruption during the period when its drivers were barred from conducting pickups at the terminals.
Talks between FAAN and other ride-hailing operators, including Uber, remained ongoing at the time Bolt resumed service, with no final agreement publicly confirmed for those platforms as of the time the reversal was reported.
The rapid reversal, coming within a single day of the initial restrictions, reflected the scale of public pressure the authority faced over both the abrupt removal of ride-hailing access and the fares passengers encountered under the ACHRAMS system.
FAAN did not withdraw its stated safety objectives for the ACHRAMS system, and the authority indicated that negotiations with remaining ride-hailing operators would continue as it sought to balance terminal order with passenger transportation preferences.
The episode drew attention to the gap between official justifications for transport policy changes at Nigerian airports and the immediate, practical consequences those changes produce for the traveling public on arrival at terminals.
Passenger choice at Lagos Airport was restored at least partially following the Bolt agreement, though the situation for users of other platforms remained unresolved, with FAAN confirming that discussions with those operators were still in progress.
The ACHRAMS system remained operational as a queue platform, but its role as the sole authorized pickup channel at FAAN airports was effectively suspended pending the conclusion of negotiations with ride-hailing companies still seeking reinstatement.
FAAN’s decision to reverse course on the Uber and Bolt pickup ban at Lagos Airport within 24 hours marked one of the fastest policy rollbacks at a Nigerian federal transport institution in recent memory, driven by direct passenger objection to ACHRAMS fares.
