Passengers and motorists were left stranded for hours on Sunday as heavy traffic and confusion followed the rollout of a cashless toll payment system by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) at major airports in Lagos and Abuja.
The policy, which took effect on March 1, 2026, eliminates cash payments at airport toll gates. Motorists are now required to use prepaid access cards or approved electronic payment channels.
At the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, long lines of vehicles stretched from the toll gate toward Oshodi and surrounding access roads, as drivers hurried to obtain the newly introduced access cards.
A similar situation unfolded at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, where frustrated travellers reported missed flights and delayed pickups due to the congestion.
Motorists who were unaware that the policy was being strictly enforced were turned back at toll gates and redirected to designated registration points to obtain prepaid cards. The on-the-spot registration process which required filling out forms, scanning QR codes and loading funds significantly slowed traffic as some drivers parked along the roadside to complete the process.
FAAN had previously announced that the cashless system was introduced to curb revenue leakages and comply with the Federal Government’s directive on electronic revenue collection across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). The authority also published details of locations where motorists could obtain the new access cards.
Under the new system, the access card itself is free. However, users must load a minimum of N1,000 or N2,000 to activate it, while a N500 maintenance fee is deducted upon loading. Although Point of Sale (POS) payments are accepted, officials acknowledged that POS transactions slow traffic compared to the faster tap-and-go card system.
Many airport users said the immediate enforcement caught them unprepared. One passenger in Abuja said the policy should have been introduced in phases to ease the transition.
A cab driver at the Abuja airport, Musa Bello, said his passenger had to pay a commercial motorcyclist N5,000 to reach the terminal to avoid missing a flight.
FAAN’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, attributed the congestion to last-minute compliance.
He said, “We publicised the cashless policy, but many people waited until today to get their cards. Nobody is allowed to pay cash anymore, so that created the initial rush.”
Reaffirming that the policy is now fully operational, he added:
“So, nobody passed through the toll gate and paid cash. So, this led to some traffic jams. And so, a lot of people started registering to get a card. The cards are available and it’s very easy to access. So, when you get a card, you can just scan the QR code. So, it takes you to go cashless at faan.gov.ng. You now register. You can upload a payment.
“You know, you can just load your card with like 2,000 Naira and that can take you through quite a couple of times before you load again. So, the idea is just to block leakages and align with the federal government directive to ensure that revenues are collected through cashless means.
“We’ve been appealing to them. We had to even give a notice to appeal to people and reiterate the need for the cashless. So, we have something out there.”
FAAN has urged frequent airport users to obtain and preload their access cards ahead of travel to avoid further delays, stressing that the cashless system is now fully in force at the country’s busiest airports.
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