Gridlock as FAAN Begins Cashless Toll at Lagos Airport, Passengers Miss Flights

Many travellers heading to domestic destinations from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, on Sunday missed their flights following a heavy traffic gridlock triggered by the commencement of a cashless payment system at the toll gate linking the international and domestic wings of the airport.

The congestion reportedly began after toll officials stopped accepting cash payments, insisting on the newly introduced access cards or Point of Sale (POS) payments.

Citizen FM recalls that the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) had last year announced plans to migrate all its revenue points to cashless transactions and gave a timeline for implementation at the Lagos airport, which took effect on March 1st.

The traffic built up from 7 and 8 Bus Stops along Airport Road, stretching through the Mobil Filling Station axis to the toll gate.

Some commuters said they spent over one hour attempting to make payment and gain access to the domestic terminal.

Reacting, a FAAN official at the toll gate, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the agency had adequately publicised the transition to cashless payment and the availability of access cards for frequent users.

“The implementation started today. No one paid cash at the toll gate, and that contributed to the traffic. Many people waited until the last minute to get their cards,” the official said.

According to the official, motorists can obtain the access cards near the toll gate, where a canopy has been set up for registration.

Users are required to register online and load funds onto the card via FAAN’s portal.

“We have enough cards. The card itself is free, but when you load N1,000 or N2,000, N500 is deducted for maintenance. We also accept POS payments, but that slowed down traffic. We are encouraging people to get the cards for faster access,” the official added.

As of press time, FAAN had yet to issue an official statement on the development.