Chaos has continued to erupt around toll gates leading to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos and vehicular traffic gridlock worsened on Monday as a result of the introduction of cashless system.

Motorists who did not have the “Go Cashless” cards were denied entry into the airport and asked to park their vehicles to register for the cards at designated areas around the airport toll gates.

Despite public awareness campaigns by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) months back, many motorists were still not aware that the new system would take effect at the entrance gates.

FAAN had on Friday last week announced designated pick-up points for its go-cashless cards ahead of the March 1 deadline.

FAAN had earlier stated that from February 28, all cash collections will stop and new cashless policy to commence.

On Monday morning, the traffic started building up from 7 & 8 bus stop along airport road, forming heavy traffic jam to the toll gate.

Some vehicles carrying travellers to the domestic wing of the airport spent several hours waiting to make payment and go through the gate.

“I have been in this traffic since 12pm and my passenger had a 2pm flight. He had to come down from my vehicle with his luggage and walk to where he got another vehicle that conveyed him to the local airport.

“This is because I have been waiting to get registered so I can get the card but I haven’t been able to, because of the long queue leading to the registration point,” David Kachi, a motorist told BusinessDay.

Another passenger who landed at MMIA also briefly shared his experience.

“Just landed MMIA and there is Chaos at the toll gate. I had to route through Oshodi, as map says it’s faster. FAAN staff is collecting N1,500 ‘cash’ for the card pick up,” he stated.

FAAN acknowledged the disruption in a statement on its social media platforms, apologising for the inconvenience while urging patience and cooperation.

The Authority said, “The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to sincerely appreciate all motorists and airport users as the FAAN Go Cashless Programme officially comes into full operation today at the access gates of the MMIA and the NAIA in alignment with the federal government’s directive on cashless transactions.

“We acknowledge the traffic build-up experienced at the access gates today. Despite the wide publicity, notices, and repeated announcements issued ahead of the commencement date, a significant number of motorists opted to register for their Go Cashless cards at the gates this morning. This understandably created pressure on the toll lanes and resulted in temporary gridlock.”

To ease the situation, FAAN said it had deployed additional personnel at the gates, expanded registration points for first-time card issuance, and enhanced on-ground coordination to improve traffic flow. (BusinessDay)

*PLS USE MURTALA MUHAMMED INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (MMIA), LAGOS