FAAN defends new airport charges, says new tariffs are ICAO compliant 

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has defended its decision to raise new airport charges, saying for decades, Nigeria’s aviation industry has been weighed down by outdated airport charges, rising operational costs, and the need for modern infrastructure that keeps pace with global aviation standards.

This is coming at a time when FAAN said it will begin enforcing new air cargo tariffs from February 2, 2026m

Under the new pricing regime, Port charges will rise from N7 to N20 per kilogram, air cargo handling fees will increase from N5 to N15 per kilogram, and Transhipment, courier and perishable goods charges will move from N20 to N40 per kilogram.

The increases cover import and export cargo, transshipments and cargo vehicle surcharges. Passenger-related tariffs are unaffected.

In a statement, it explained that the authority manages 22 airports across the country and has long operated under financial constraints caused largely by tariffs and fees that have remained stagnant for years—even as inflation, security demands, and infrastructure pressure continue to rise.

“Today, the conversation on the imperative of new FAAN airport charges is not merely a revenue argument. It is a national aviation safety, sustainability, and modernisation argument.

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“The reality is simple: Nigeria cannot build world-class airports on 2002 prices while running a 2026 aviation system. Therefore, the decision by FAAN to embark on upward review of its airport charges is necessary, timely, and beneficial for the entire aviation ecosystem. Let’s take a look at some indices,” FAAN stated.

The authority said airport charges in Nigeria have remained largely unchanged for over 20 years, adding that during that same period, the global aviation industry has transformed, fuel prices have skyrocketed, security requirements have intensified, Inflation has eroded revenue value while maintenance and technology costs have doubled or tripled.

“Yet FAAN’s charges—many of which were set in the early 2000s—have not been adjusted to reflect new realities. This means FAAN has been using outdated revenue structures to fund modern airport operations.”

According to the authority, airports Today are not just travel hubs—they are complex ecosystems requiring 24/7 power supply, modern security technologies, firefighting and emergency response readiness.

“Other more expensive operational cost are runway, maintenance, airfield lighting, staff training and recurrent certification, environmental management (in line with ISO 14001 and ICAO standards) and customer service enhancements (in line with ISO 9001).

“Each of these comes with rising costs. For example, ICAO now mandates advanced security screening technology, emergency response upgrades, and environmental impact controls. These obligations require heavy capital expenditure—investment FAAN cannot sustainably make without appropriate cost recovery,” FAAN said in a statement.

FAAN noted that most Nigerian airports need upgrades in terminal facilities, runway and taxiway rehabilitation, boarding bridges, baggage handling systems, apron expansion, power and cooling systems, perimeter fencing and lightning arrestors.

“These improvements require billions of naira. Without adjusting charges to reflect realistic cost-recovery models, FAAN cannot maintain critical infrastructure, improve airport safety, support airline growth, expand capacity for cargo and passenger traffic and also compete with regional airports like Accra, Kigali, Addis Ababa, and Johannesburg,” the authority added.