Airport Chaos: Corruption and Inefficiency Reign

The airports in Lagos, which serve as a significant center for aviation in Nigeria, are currently confronting a critical issue that endangers passenger safety: racketeering. This unlawful practice has become widespread, undermining the security and reliability of airport operations.

At both the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) and the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2), racketeering has permeated multiple facets of airport services.

Investigations have revealed a network of fraudulent activities occurring at airport terminals, which include:

·         Ticket reselling scams: Airport personnel engage in the unethical practice of reselling tickets from passengers who have missed their flights, often at significantly marked-up prices to the highest bidder.

·         Seat blocking and ticket hoarding: Airline employees intentionally obstruct seat availability on their websites, hindering legitimate bookings. Subsequently, these employees sell the tickets at exorbitant prices to passengers in urgent need at the airport.

·         Ticket touting and identity fraud: Touts acquire tickets from airlines and resell them at inflated prices to unsuspecting travelers. They employ counterfeit identification cards to facilitate this deception, exacerbating the problem.

The threat posed by this racketeering activity has significant repercussions. The integrity of security screenings and baggage management is undermined, heightening the likelihood of accidents, theft, and acts of terrorism, which ultimately jeopardizes the safety of passengers. Additionally, the Nigerian government incurs substantial financial losses amounting to millions of naira as a result of corrupt practices and extortion. Moreover, the reputation of Lagos airports is adversely affected, discouraging both international airlines and travelers.

Yellow Cards, Undeclared Luggage, and Other Airport Scams

Travelers heading to various African destinations encounter significant challenges at the airport. To secure the necessary yellow fever vaccination cards, they are required to visit the Port Health Services, where they often find a shortage of these vital documents.

As a substitute, passengers receive forms approved by the Port Health Services, which they must complete after their vaccinations. Nevertheless, this solution has not eliminated the problem of counterfeit yellow cards being sold illegally at the airport. Reports indicate that even when passengers present the endorsed forms, airport personnel still insist on seeing the physical yellow cards.

Additionally, there is a troubling trend regarding undeclared luggage. Domestic airlines, facing the burden of soaring jet fuel prices, have started imposing fees on passengers for their luggage. This has resulted in a concerning practice where airline employees collaborate with travelers to falsely declare luggage volumes, often involving monetary exchanges.

Such actions compromise the cargo load factor (CLF), an essential measure for airlines to evaluate the effectiveness of their cargo operations. With inaccurate declarations, airlines struggle to assess their CLF accurately, which hampers their ability to enhance cargo efficiency.

Moreover, passengers frequently experience harassment and intimidation from airport officials, who ask intrusive questions and closely examine their belongings. This fosters an environment of distrust, leading some travelers to feel pressured to offer bribes to expedite their security processes.

Customs and personnel from the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) perform random checks and profiling of passengers. However, it has been noted that offering substantial “gifts” to these officials can result in quicker and sometimes waived security checks, raising serious concerns about corruption and the misuse of authority.