The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is set to resume collecting concession fees from Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2) in Lagos following a settlement with Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited that ended nearly 20 years of contractual disputes.
The agreement, formally signed on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, establishes new financial and operational arrangements between the Federal Government, FAAN, Bi-Courtney and Stabilini Visinoni Limited.
Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, confirmed that FAAN would begin receiving concession payments from the privately operated terminal after years of disagreements over contractual obligations and financial entitlements.
The settlement follows approval by the Federal Executive Council on April 30, 2026, and provides for both parties to relinquish specified outstanding claims.
Under the arrangement, Bi-Courtney will waive unresolved claims against the Federal Government, while FAAN and the government will forgo accumulated concession fees and other agreed historical payments owed by the operator.
The agreement allows the parties to establish a new payment relationship without carrying forward the financial disputes that previously affected the concession.
For FAAN, the resumption of concession payments creates an additional revenue stream that could support airport maintenance, infrastructure development and operational improvements.
However, the financial value of the expected payments has not been publicly established, making it difficult to determine their immediate contribution to the authority’s revenue.
The settlement also resolves disagreements concerning the General Aviation Terminal, commonly known as MMA1, which will remain under Federal Government ownership and FAAN’s management.
In return, Bi-Courtney will be permitted to expand its aircraft parking apron and accommodate regional flights within Africa at MMA2, subject to available terminal capacity.
The revised arrangements could create additional commercial opportunities for the terminal operator through increased passenger traffic and associated airport services.
The agreement also addresses unfinished hotel and conference centre projects near MMA2, with provisions intended to facilitate their completion.
The original airport concession was signed in April 2003 and commenced in May 2007, initially covering 12 years before its duration was extended to 36 years.
Disagreements over the scope of the concession, financial obligations and airport facilities subsequently resulted in prolonged litigation.
For Nigeria’s aviation industry, the settlement could improve confidence in privately financed airport infrastructure by demonstrating that longstanding contractual disagreements can be resolved through negotiation.
Its success will depend on consistent concession payments, compliance with the revised terms and the completion of outstanding infrastructure commitments.