The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has cleared ride-hailing platform Bolt to resume operations at Nigerian airports, following an agreement reached between both parties after a dispute disrupted the service and left passengers stranded.

FAAN, in a statement issued on Thursday by its Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, said the resolution followed discussions aimed at addressing long-standing concerns over safety, security and accountability involving commercial and e-hailing vehicles operating at the nation’s airports.

According to the authority, the concerns had persisted for nearly a decade and included unregulated vehicle pickups, passenger solicitation and instances involving drivers operating across multiple platforms simultaneously.

FAAN said it introduced the Airport Car Hire Management System (ACHRAMS) in response to some of these challenges, stressing that the platform is an airport car-hire management system and not an e-hailing application.

The authority clarified that ACHRAMS does not compete with Bolt, Uber or other mobility platforms.

FAAN also rejected claims that it had imposed or fixed taxi fares at the airports, saying the rates recently discussed publicly were neither newly introduced by the authority nor created by ACHRAMS.

It explained that the system had merely made existing fares more visible to passengers, leading to increased scrutiny because the rates appeared higher than prices passengers had become accustomed to paying through e-hailing platforms.

“We sincerely apologise for the difficulties this caused our passengers,” Agbebire said, adding that FAAN had “listened, reflected and made the necessary adjustments.”

The authority said Bolt had consequently been cleared to resume its airport operations immediately.

FAAN added that discussions were ongoing with other e-hailing operators and expressed optimism that the engagements would be concluded “in the coming days.”

While it did not disclose which other platforms were still affected, the authority maintained that its measures were driven by safety, security and regulatory considerations rather than commercial interests.

FAAN further assured the public that it had no intention of creating a monopoly in airport transportation.

The authority apologised for the inconvenience caused by the temporary disruption and thanked passengers for their patience and understanding.