Car hire operators have raised the alarm over security threats at the nation’s airports as a result of the operation of illegal cab operators.
The Airport Car Hire Association of Nigeria (ACHAN) said unless the government curbed the activities of illegal cab drivers at the airports, security of passengers and facilities around the terminals could be compromised.
According to them, 98 per cent of missing passengers’ cases are linked to those who boarded unregistered cabs at the airports. Those drivers have been established to have taken passengers to unknown locations.
The operators said terrorists could infiltrate such cabs to bomb airport facilities since they often drive close to the arrival halls.
President of ACHAN, Chief Stanley Worlu Dike, said the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) should put urgent measures in place to curtail their operations as they have increasingly infiltrated major airports in the country.
Chief Dike urged FAAN to provide office spaces for ACHAN members since the association complements the efforts of government in providing job opportunities for young Nigerians.
Chairman, Board of Trustees of ACHAN, Alhaji Muili Yinusa, said the military location at the General Aviation Terminal 1 in Lagos has become a safe haven for such unregistered operators.
He said: ” A lot of illegal vehicles operate from the military location at the GAT and when they steal passengers’ luggage or property, the victims run down to look for the Chairman of ACHAN”
Alhaji Yinusa urged FAAN to cancel the proposed ‘Pay As You Go’ policy the airports management authority is planning to impose on ACHAN members.
“We pay millions of naira to FAAN annually, so we are supposed to enjoy certain privileges as other concessionaire.”, he added.