The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has directed the immediate introduction of a hybrid payment system at airport access gates across Nigeria, allowing motorists to pay with either cash or electronic methods.
The directive followed a review meeting between the minister, officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), and senior officials of the ministry after the earlier suspension of the fully cashless access gate system.
The cashless policy had initially been halted on the instruction of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu due to severe traffic congestion experienced at airport entry points during its implementation.
According to a statement issued in Abuja by the minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Tunde Moshood, the government decided to temporarily restore a mixed payment arrangement while working toward a fully automated system.
Under the new directive, a hybrid payment structure accommodating both cash and electronic transactions will resume at airport access gates nationwide starting Friday, March 13, 2026.
The ministry also reaffirmed its long-term goal of introducing a completely automated electronic payment system at airport entry points. To achieve this, the government plans to engage concessionaires that will deploy advanced technology to eliminate cash transactions in the future.
Motorists who already possess FAAN’s Go Cashless Cards have been advised to continue using them until further notice.
In addition, other electronic payment channels such as Point of Sale (POS) terminals and other approved digital payment options will remain operational at the access gates.
Authorities also encouraged members of the public and airport road users to obtain the FAAN Go Cashless Card as efforts continue to improve and fully optimise the cashless payment framework.
The directive effectively restores the previous payment arrangement at airport access gates while the ministry works toward implementing a more efficient and fully automated system.