Travel News
FAAN’s cashless policy rollout sparks airport gridlock - PUNCH
Passengers travelling through airports in Lagos and Abuja on Sunday were left stranded following the implementation of the Federal Government’s cashless payment policy at airport access gates, triggering massive gridlock, missed flights, and widespread frustration among travellers.
Many passengers narrated harrowing experiences as motorists struggled to comply with the newly enforced electronic payment system introduced by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.
While some travellers abandoned their vehicles at airport entrances due to difficulties completing payments, others said they missed scheduled flights after spending hours attempting to access the airports.
Passengers who spoke with The PUNCH lamented what they described as poor planning and inadequate infrastructure to support the transition to electronic payment collection.
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A frequent flyer in Lagos, Adedeji Rilewan, said government agencies must balance reform with operational readiness. He added that he had to park his car at the airport entrance with his relatives to catch his flight.
“Nobody is against cashless payment, but you don’t introduce a system that prevents people from catching flights. Airports are time-sensitive environments. I had to park my car with my cousins at the gate to be able to catch my flight. As I speak with you now, I am sweating profusely,” he said.
Another passenger at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos, who identified himself simply as Wale, said the situation was chaotic and unexpected.
“I left home very early, thinking I had enough time for my flight, only to get stuck at the airport gate for over an hour. The payment system was not working smoothly. People were confused, and nobody seemed to know what to do,” he said.
Recall that barely six months ago, FAAN had announced that all payments at its revenue points, including airport access gates, car parks, VIP lounges, and protocol services, would become fully electronic beginning September 2025.
The agency said the initiative was designed 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 announced that the Federal Government had resolved to fully activate the cashless policy from March 1, 2026, as part of efforts to block revenue leakages.
Sunday’s enforcement marked the first full-scale implementation of the directive. Findings by The PUNCH revealed that airport users were required to obtain a dedicated FAAN electronic payment card, which must be registered, funded, and scanned at entry points.
Although some passengers attempted to pay using commercial bank ATM cards or Point-of-Sale terminals, many complained that the process was slow and repeatedly unsuccessful. The resulting delays created long queues of vehicles stretching several kilometres at airport entrances in both Lagos and Abuja.
Reacting to the development, FAAN’s spokesperson, Henry Agbebire, attributed the disruption to last-minute compliance by motorists despite months of public sensitisation.
“I think what happened was that we tried to publicise this as much as possible, but a lot of people waited till the last minute before getting their cards. The implementation of the cashless programme started today,” he said.
According to him, the agency had completely eliminated cash payments at airport toll gates, stating that FAAN had made provisions for card registration near airport entrances.
Agbebire said, “Nobody passed through the toll gate and paid cash today, and that led to traffic congestion because many people were registering on the spot to obtain cards.
“There is a canopy close to the toll gate where people can register. Those coming from Oshodi can cross over, while those approaching from the local airport end can drive into the aviation school area to get their cards.”
Agbebire insisted that card availability was not a challenge, adding that while POS payments were accepted, they slowed traffic flow.
The FAAN spokesman maintained that the cashless initiative was necessary to curb corruption and ensure transparency in revenue collection.
He said, “We don’t have a problem with cards. We have enough cards for people. The card is free. You only need to load it, maybe N1,000 or N2,000, and you can use it several times before reloading.
“We accept POS, but POS transactions slow down movement, so we encourage people to get the dedicated FAAN card. From tomorrow, more personnel in branded shirts will assist travellers with registration. The idea is to block leakages and align with the Federal Government directive that revenues must be collected electronically,” he said.
Also commenting on the development, Michael Achimugu of the NCAA, said the disruption was expected to ease once airport users obtained the payment cards. He expressed optimism that the system would soon become efficient.
“Due to the new FAAN cashless policy, vehicles passing through the tollgate are enduring some delays in order to get the card. If they do, the traffic situation would only be an inconvenience for today,” he said. “Going forward, it is expected to be more seamless than ever before. It also blocks corruption loopholes,” Achimugu added.
Private Jet Prices Soar For Wealthy Tourists Desperate To Leave Dubai - FORBES
Travelers stranded in the United Arab Emirates after missile and drone attacks from Iran forced the closure of the Dubai airport are paying upwards of $140,000 for flights on private jets and driving more than 10 hours to open airports in attempts to leave the region as war breaks out.
A private jet. Getty Images
Key Facts
The Dubai airport, a global hub and connection point for major air routes across the world, has been closed since Saturday, when nearly 300 flights were canceled and thousands of passengers were left stranded.
While limited operations are expected to resume later Monday, there’s no estimate as to when the airport will fully reopen, and rich travelers have been fleeing for airports in Oman and Saudi Arabia to circumvent the closure.
Altay Kula, a spokesperson for private jet brokerage JetVIP, said demand for private jets has surged sharply while the number of operators willing to fly in the region has plummeted.
James Leach of Air Charter Service said many local aircraft that would usually be used for private flights in the region are stuck at closed airports, meaning planes are coming in from much farther away to pick up passengers, increasing average prices.
Airports in Muscat, Oman, and—to a lesser extent due to visa restrictions—Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, have become travel hubs, both spokespeople said, and Semafor reported that private security companies have booked fleets of SUVs to ferry clients to open airports where they can catch private flights.
Those evacuating include senior executives at global finance firms and wealthy travelers in the region for business or vacation, Semafor reported.
A majority of evacuation flights are headed toward Istanbul, London or Rome, Kula said, with light flight jet trips from Muscat to Istanbul selling for more than $93,000, about twice the usual rate, and rates for heavy jets making the same trip are reaching up to $140,000.
Qatar to extend entry visas for travellers stranded in the country - EURONEWS
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Travellers stuck in Qatar due to the country’s airspace closure will have their entry visas extended without fees, the Ministry of Interior has announced.
The extension, which will be valid for one month, applies to all visa entry categories and will be processed automatically. Further extensions may be announced in the future “in line with developments”.
Those whose entry visas expired prior to 28 February, when Iran’s retaliatory strikes began, will still need to pay overstay fines incurred.
Citizens of 102 countries around the globe can get a free visa on arrival in Qatar, but the length of stay depends on nationality.
For the majority of European nations, you can stay for up to 90 days. Others can get a 30-day visa which is extendable for a further 30 days.
Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority announced it would be closing the airspace just after noon local time (10 am CET) on 28 February.
Qatar Airways, the country’s flag carrier, has been posting daily updates about the continued suspension of flights daily before 9 am local time (7 am CET). The next update is due on 4 March.
Visit visas are also being extended for tourists in Thailand affected by cancellations on flights to the Middle East.
Mahmood to stop study visas from four countries due to 'abuse' - BBC
BY Jennifer McKiernanPolitical reporter
The UK government will stop issuing study visas to people from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan from this month, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said, as well as stopping skilled work visas to Afghans.
The Home Office said the action was being taken due to what it said was widespread visa abuse.
According to official figures, people from the four countries were the most likely to make an asylum claim after originally coming to the UK to study.
"The government is clamping down on visa abuse so the UK can maintain its ability and proud tradition of helping those genuinely in need," a government spokesperson added.
In its release, the government said asylum claims from people who had originally travelled to the UK legally - to do something like studying - had more than tripled between 2021 and 2025.
Home Office figures showed that people claiming asylum off the back of a study visa make up 13% of all claims currently in the system.
Mahmood said she was "taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity".
"I will restore order and control to our borders."
The Home Office said a higher proportion of people than average from the four specified country cited destitution as part of their asylum claim, and there were 16,000 people from the four countries currently being supported.
About 95% of Afghans who arrived in the UK on a study visa then applied for asylum since 2021, while applications by students from Myanmar increased 16-fold and claims by students from Cameroon and Sudan more than quadrupled.
On its reasoning for ending work visas for Afghans, the Home Office also cited the large numbers claiming asylum in the UK once their visas expired.
It said this this posed "an unsustainable threat to the UK's asylum system".
Mahmood will introduce new legislation to stop the issuing of visas through an Immigration Rules change on Thursday 5 March.
In November, the home secretary threatened to shut down all UK visas for Angola, Namibia and the Democratic of Congo unless their governments agreed to take deportations, which led to a resumption of returns flights with all three countries.
The measures follow the prime minister's decision to adopt a more hard-edged approach to diplomacy in response to pressure to reduce immigration from those on the political right, including the Conservatives and Reform UK.
Last week, the government announced protection for refugees would be halved to 30 months in an attempt to reduce small boat crossings.
In 2025, a total of 41,472 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats, which was almost 5,000 more than the previous year.
The UK has resettled the sixth largest number of refugees referred by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the world, which the Home Office said demonstrated the government's commitment to helping those genuinely in need.
The home secretary will give a speech this week on making the "progressive case" for immigration control.
Last month, about 40 Labour MPs raised concerns about the impact of the proposals to change permanent settlement rights for migrants already living here, describing the retrospective approach as "un-British" and "moving the goalposts".
They have warned it could worsen the UK's skills shortage, particularly in the care sector.
The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats were contacted for comment.
FAAN insists cashless policy stays despite airport chaos
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria has insisted that the cashless payment policy at Nigerian airports will remain in place, despite the confusion and complaints that trailed its recent rollout.
Speaking to journalists on Thursday at the airport, the Managing Director of FAAN, Olubunmi Kuku, said the directive remains a key government policy but assured passengers that steps are being taken to improve its implementation following concerns raised by travellers and airport users.
She explained that the decision followed guidance from the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development after deliberations at the Federal Executive Council.
Recall that media reports stated that the controversial cashless policy, which led to chaos at the airport, particularly at the aerodrome gate, was reportedly suspended on Wednesday.
According to Kuku, the council did not order the suspension of the policy but directed that the process be improved to make it more efficient for airport users.
“You heard the minister yesterday following the Federal Executive Council meeting where Mr. President has asked us not necessarily to suspend but to make sure that the process itself is improved before it gets rolled out,” Kuku stated.
The authority described the directive as a major boost for both the agency and the aviation ministry, stressing that the policy was not a sudden decision but one that had been in the works for several months.
FAAN further explained that preparations for the policy began last year with extensive awareness campaigns aimed at educating airport users about the transition from cash to electronic payments.
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The FAAN boss stated, “I consider this to be a major win for the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria as well as the Ministry of Aviation.
“So if you recall, we actually started the cashless policy last year. We started a lot of enlightenment; even the National Orientation Agency, you can check their Instagram and their social media handles, had publicised it as far back as October of last year.”
The authority said the implementation followed a directive of the Federal Government approved at the Federal Executive Council, adding that the agency had earlier proposed a gradual approach.
“We were asked to implement a Federal Government directive, which was done at the Federal Executive Council. This was what we were pushing towards, but unfortunately, we were given a deadline.”
According to FAAN, the agency had initially suggested a hybrid arrangement that would allow both electronic and cash payments to run simultaneously during the transition period. “We had actually asked for a hybrid approach that allows us to do both cashless and automated.”
While reaffirming its commitment to the policy, FAAN expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for what it described as a pragmatic approach to governance.
“So, for me and the agency, we actually thank Mr President for this laudable initiative. The fact that the President is not just taking Federal Government initiatives or policy rollouts, but understanding the nature of every environment,” the FAAN boss stated.
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