Illegal limousine operators takes over MMA

The Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos may have been taken over by illegal limousine operators. They paint their vehicles in the airport colour of blue but are not registered with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).
Sources told Daily Times that these vehicles were owned and controlled by security personnel attached to the airport, including the Nigeria Airforce, Nigerian Police, Nigerian Customs Service, and others.

The source said that the unregistered cabs plying several routes within and outside the airport could not be stopped as efforts to stop them had proved abortive as they are encouraged by the security agencies personnel who beat up the airport limousine task force and take them to cells anytime there was an attempt to stop the illegal operators.
He further stated that the leadership of the limousine operators had written officially to FAAN to complain about the act, but was yet to receive any response from the airport landlord, warning that such operators are a safety and security risk to the industry.

FAAN in the first quarter of every year carries out vehicle inspection exercise to determine the number of cabs and buses that would be allowed to ply the airport route.

In the 2016 exercise, the agency approved 400 cabs and 250 buses to ply the Lagos Airport road.

During the exercise, applicants are made to pay a non-refundable fee of N10,000 each as application form while successful cab and vehicle owners register with N60, 000 per annum.

Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mechanical Department of FAAN, Aviation Security, Fire Service Department and FAAN’s unions all take part in the vehicle inspection exercise.

The source said: “The Lagos Airport is no longer safe for air travellers and other users of the airport because you cannot identify those who were successfully screened by FAAN and other illegal operators. Unlike in the past when some of the illegal operators used cabs that were not in airport colour for their activities, they have gone a step higher by painting their cabs in airport colour of blue.

“Unfortunately for us too, FAAN has been looking the other way. This simply shows that there are security lapses at the airport. Most of these illegal operators bring out their vehicles from 4 pm, and mostly to carry international air travellers. There are fears that some of these illegal operators may be used to perpetuate criminal activities against the sector and even the travellers as some of them in the past had robbed travellers of their possessions.