Tuesday, October 7, 2025 - The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has launched a “go-cashless” policy at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, as part of efforts to block revenue leakages and promote seamless airport operations.
The policy, which took off on September 29, 2025, marks the
beginning of FAAN’s plan to phase out physical cash payments at all its revenue
points, including access gates, car parks, and VIP lounges, by the first
quarter of 2026.
The Managing Director of FAAN, Mrs Olubunmi Kuku, said the
initiative would eliminate delays caused by cash handling, strengthen
transparency, and enhance passenger experience at airports nationwide.
Kuku, who was represented at the launch by the Director of
Commercial and Business Development, Ms Adebola Agunbiade, said the transition
to electronic payments would also improve accountability and increase the
agency’s internally generated revenue.
“Effective September 29, 2025, we have started phasing out
physical cash at all FAAN revenue points. The benefits are clear: faster
processing, smoother passenger flow, and enhanced security since you no longer
need to carry large amounts of cash.
“For FAAN and the nation, it means optimized revenue
collection, significantly reduced leakage, and a robust financial
accountability system. We have begun this rollout strategically, starting with
the access gates and lounges at the beginning, and subsequently, to all
FAAN-managed airports across the country,” she said.
According to her, the first phase of the project focuses on
access gates and lounges, with plans to extend to all FAAN-managed airports
across the country in the coming months.
Kuku explained that FAAN targets a 50 per cent increase in
revenue during the pilot phase and expects to record up to 100 per cent growth
when the cashless system becomes fully operational.
“The card is being activated for only FAAN-managed revenue
points, and within this first pilot phase, we expect to increase our revenue by
50 per cent. By the time we go fully cashless, we expect to be doing between 75
per cent and 100 per cent growth on the revenue we currently do today.
Everybody sees our figures; they are not hidden. What we are trying to do is to
ensure that we are collecting 100 per cent of all the revenue for the federal
government.
“Today, between Lagos and Abuja, we have about 300,000
motorists who go through our access gates monthly. That alone gives a sense of
the revenue potential. With this system, we expect to double what we currently
generate once the rollout is completed,” she said.
She added that by the end of the first quarter of 2026, FAAN
aims to completely eliminate cash transactions at all its facilities,
describing the move as part of the authority’s commitment to modernising
Nigeria’s aviation infrastructure and aligning with global best practices.
“We have given ourselves a target of six months. By Q1 next
year, we will have totally phased out cash collections within the airport,”
Kuku affirmed.
The initiative comes as FAAN intensifies efforts to improve
operational efficiency and accountability across its airports, in line with the
Federal Government’s broader digitalization drive in the aviation and transport
sectors.
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