Touting: FAAN to introduce on-site courts at airports

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) says it has finalized plans to establish magistrate courts across the airports in the country.

The move is part of the Authority’s ongoing efforts to eradicate touting in Nigerian airports and ensure that individuals who flout airport regulations face immediate legal consequences.

The Managing Director/CEO of FAAN, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, disclosed this at a meeting held in Abuja on Friday between FAAN management and heads of security agencies at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

The meeting was convened to update airport stakeholders on recent developments and inform them of the current management team’s strategic goals.

It also aimed to facilitate collaborative discussions on enhancing passenger experience, streamlining processes, and improving overall facilitation through innovative approaches.

According to Kuku, the presence of touts and unauthorized individuals loitering in the airport poses a significant obstacle to creating a comfortable and seamless experience for legitimate airport users.

She said: “There are people who have absolutely no business being at the airport, and they continue to create issues for us.

“We have an anti-touting taskforce, and as it is, we are going to start the prosecution onsite of those engaging in these illicit activities or loitering around the airport environment and harassing passengers.

“This doesn’t happen elsewhere around the world, and the airport should be a safe space.”

She further said that she is aware of car hire operators violating processes and protocol and warned that such behaviour would no longer be tolerated.

Kuku stressed the need to decrease manual baggage searches at the international wing, announcing plans to implement a system where bags would pass through screening machines, enabling security officials to view contents in real-time and only flag luggage needing additional screening for further examination.

“We have to streamline our efforts. We need to improve processes at the airport. This is the 21st century, and we must keep up with the times.”