A former President of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA), Olusoji Amusan, has raised concern over what he described as persistent chaos and lack of sanity at Nigerian airports.
Speaking with The Guardian in Lagos at the weekend, Amusan warned that the situation was damaging the country’s reputation and undermining safety and efficiency at the terminals.
Amusan, who was also the pioneer General Manager, West Africa for Lufthansa German Airlines, said Nigerian airport terminals had become overly porous, with too many unauthorised persons roaming sensitive areas meant strictly for passengers and on-duty officials.
He said discussions about airport reform had yielded few results because authorities focused more on identifying problems than implementing practical solutions.
According to him, unrestricted access by staff of aviation-related agencies and other organisations had worsened the situation, noting that employment with agencies such as the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) or the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) should not automatically grant access to restricted areas.
Amusan cited the baggage reclaim area as a major example of disorderliness, describing scenes where crowds of non-passengers overwhelm arriving travellers under the guise of offering assistance.
He called for strict access control and the deployment of supervisors to coordinate activities, especially at the nation’s five international airports.
He said: “We have been talking about sanity at Nigerian airports for years, but we must start from what we can achieve. There are too many people at the terminals who have no business being there, yet they move around freely and unchecked.
“For anyone to have access to certain areas of the airport, there must be an on-duty card (ODC). You cannot just walk into the airport and carry out activities when you are not on duty.
“You find more people at the baggage reclaim area than the actual passengers. Everyone wants to help carry luggage, yet nobody helped the passenger at the point of departure,” he said.
Amusan also criticised the general chaos outside airport terminals, stressing the need for clear delineation of responsibilities among agencies operating at the airports.
He explained that while FAAN manages airport facilities, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) enforces international standards on behalf of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
He pointed out that if the nation got these basic things right and everyone kept to their responsibilities, within two to three months, the difference would be obvious to everyone.
The aviation expert warned that unless urgent steps were taken to restore order, Nigeria’s airports would continue to fall short of international standards, affecting passenger experience, tourism growth and investor confidence in the aviation sector.
