…As Africa records highest aviation accident in 2025 — IATA
By Teddy Nwanunobi
Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ,FAAN, will begin implementing a hybrid payment system at airport access gates across the country starting March 13, allowing motorists to pay either with cash or electronically.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued by the Special Adviser on Media and Communications to the aviation minister, Mr Tunde Moshood.
The new arrangement follows the temporary suspension of the fully cashless access gate payment system after its rollout caused traffic congestion at several airports.
The suspension of the cashless policy was ordered by Nigeria’s president, Bola Tinubu, after reports emerged that motorists experienced delays and gridlock while trying to enter airport premises under the electronic-only system.
In response to the directive, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr Festus Keyamo, instructed FAAN to halt the cashless-only payment model and revert to the previous arrangement that allowed cash payments at airport gates.
However, the minister noted that the transition would not completely abandon digital payments. Instead, the authority will introduce a hybrid model that accommodates both cash transactions and electronic payments, particularly for motorists who already possess FAAN access cards.
Moshood said Keyamo subsequently held a meeting with senior officials from FAAN and the aviation ministry to assess the early rollout of the system and address operational challenges observed during the first phase of implementation.
According to him, the ministry plans to engage concessionaires managing the access gates in order to ultimately deploy a fully automated electronic system that would eliminate physical cash payments in the long term.
“In the meantime, a hybrid payment system that accommodates both cash and card payments will resume at all airport access gates with effect from Friday, March 13, 2026″, Moshood said.
He added that motorists who already have FAAN Go Cashless Cards will still be able to use them, while other electronic payment options such as PoS terminals and approved digital channels will remain operational alongside cash payments.
The Ministry also encouraged airport users and motorists to obtain the FAAN Go Cashless Card as the authority continues to refine and optimise the digital payment infrastructure.
The statement noted that the directive effectively restores the previous gate payment arrangement while the ministry works toward implementing a fully automated electronic system in the future.
Earlier, on March 4, Keyamo had indicated that the ministry would review the first 7 days of the cashless policy rollout in order to address implementation issues, reduce corruption risks, and improve revenue collection from airport access charges.
Similarly, the Annual Safety Report of the International Air Transport Association, IATA, has revealed that Africa recorded the highest aviation accident rate in the world in 2025, despite down from 11 accidents in 2024.
Seven accidents occurred in Africa in 2025, according to the report, underscoring persistent challenges in runway safety, turboprop operations, and timely accident investigations.
It resulted in an all-accident rate of 7.86 per million flights, below the five-year regional average of 9.37.
However, the continent’s “fatality risk increased sharply from zero in 2024 to 2.19 per million flights”, largely driven by turboprop incidents.
IATA noted that, “71% of accidents involving African operators involved turboprops”, while the most common types were “runway excursions and other end state events”, where precise classification was not possible due to limited information.
In comparison, other regions reported lower accident rates and fatality risks.
The report said, “Asia-Pacific had six accidents in 2025, down from seven in 2024, with fatality risk stable at 0.15 per million flights. Europe recorded 11 accidents, an improvement from 12, and maintained a zero fatality risk.
“Latin America and the Caribbean reported five accidents, down from five in 2024, with fatality risk decreasing from 0.37 to 0.26 per million flights.
“North America saw 16 accidents, up from 14, with the fatality risk increasing from zero to 0.21.
“The Middle East and North Africa had one accident with zero fatalities, while North Asia reported one non-fatal accident, keeping fatality risk at zero.
“The Commonwealth of Independent States experienced four accidents — all involving turboprops with fatality risk rising from zero in 2024 to 0.69″.
IATA’s Director General, Willie Walsh, pointed to infrastructure as a key factor in accident outcomes.
“Rigid obstacles near runways increased accident severity, likely turning otherwise survivable occurrences into fatal ones.
“All airports and regulators should continuously review runway safety areas and structures near runways for compliance with global safety standards.
“Airport infrastructure and runway environments play a critical role in accident outcomes. In several events, rigid obstacles near runways increased accident severity, likely turning otherwise survivable occurrences into fatal ones”, he said.
