Travellers abandon vehicles amid FAAN cashless airport crisis

Local and foreign travellers are abandoning their vehicles and trekking into the terminal following severe traffic congestion triggered by the full enforcement of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria’s (FAAN) cashless policy at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

It was reported that the implementation of the “Operation Go Cashless” directive has led to long queues of vehicles from the airport toll gate, leaving many passengers scrambling to catch scheduled flights.

The disruption followed FAAN’s enforcement of its directive mandating fully electronic payments at all airport revenue points, including access gates, car parks, VIP lounges and protocol services.

Recall that barely six months ago, FAAN had announced that all payments at its revenue points would become fully electronic beginning September 2025, describing the initiative as part of efforts to modernise airport operations, promote transparency and align Nigeria’s aviation sector with global digital standards.

However, enforcement remained largely dormant until February, when FAAN disclosed that the Federal Government had resolved to fully activate the cashless policy from March 1, 2026, to block revenue leakages.

The exercise marks the first full-scale implementation of the directive in Abuja.

Findings showed that airport users are required to obtain a dedicated FAAN electronic payment card, which must be registered, funded and scanned at entry points.

Although some motorists attempted to pay using commercial bank ATM cards or Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals, many complained that the process is slow and repeatedly unsuccessful. The delays have resulted in massive gridlock at the airport entrance.

Several stranded travellers have been seen dragging their luggage on foot from the toll gate after abandoning their vehicles in a desperate bid to avoid missing their flights.

Experts: Nigerians raise concern over new policy

Aviation stakeholders argue that the crisis exposes deeper structural flaws, adding that the federal government placed so much attention on the revenue aspect without considering the operational realities.

Olumide Ohunayo, an aviation analyst, said the authorities prioritised revenue enforcement over traffic engineering, adding that while the airport cashless policy aims to improve transparency and efficiency, the rollout ignored critical considerations such as traffic management, commuter behaviour, and local infrastructure constraints.

“When this policy was coming up, the first thing that should have been on the table was how traffic would flow seamlessly. In this case, revenue came before traffic flow, and that’s why you’re having a bottleneck,” he said.

Meanwhile, the development has continued to spark reactions on social media

A user, @FadaChristmas_, wrote, “Animal kingdom, the headquarters of anyhowness. Only Black people know how to ruin everything. Cos why are you orchestrating a hold-up at an airport where everyone is in a hurry to catch their flight, which if they miss it, they will lose a lot of money?”

Another user, @ChukwukaCj4, stated, “The policy itself isn’t inherently bad—digital payments can improve efficiency. But implementation, awareness, and infrastructure need to match the plan. Otherwise, you just swap one problem (slow traffic) for a bigger one (chaos and abandoned cars).”

@AdekunleOderind added, “There is nothing wrong with doing cashless, but the implementation process needs both a human angle and enforcement. Why not test the process during the off-peak period while simultaneously allowing cash to go on in another side? We just do things haphazardly.”

Similarly, @AwiHorace wrote, “When policies aren’t well thought through, this is what happens. The people suffer. A toll gate cannot use POS as a means of payment. It has to be a rapid payment option, like touchscreen payment. Similar to what Lagos State has installed at the train stations in Lagos. It will cost money to do, but it’s better to do it properly than implement something that’s a barrier from the beginning.”

Another user, @_noexcusez, said, “Everything in this country is by fire by force. This transition should be allowed to last at least a year and not subject people to suffering because one person feels they are being cheated by the revenue officers.”

As of press time, traffic into the Abuja airport remains slow, with security and traffic officials struggling to manage the situation.