The House of Representatives Committee on Finance has mandated the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to recover a total of N18.98 billion in outstanding debts from foreign airlines within a two-week timeframe.
The directive was issued on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, by the Committee Chairman, Hon. James Abiodun Faleke, during a revenue monitoring exercise at the National Assembly. The session examined the financial performance of government agencies between 2023 and 2025.
Breakdown of the Indebtedness
During her presentation to the committee, FAAN Managing Director Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku provided a detailed list of the liabilities. The debts consist of statutory charges for airport services, including landing and parking fees, terminal navigation charges, and passenger service charges.
Key airlines listed in the debt profile include:
- Lufthansa: N1.5 billion
- Qatar Airways: N1.5 billion
- Virgin Atlantic: N1.357 billion
- KLM: N1.252 billion
- Ethiopian Airlines: N1.127 billion
- Qatar Airways (2023 balance): N1.16 billion
- EgyptAir: N1.1 billion
- Air France: N1 billion
Other carriers: Royal Air Maroc (N940m), Turkish Airlines (N845m), Africa World Airlines (N746m), and British Airways (N476m).
Legislative Concerns and Directives
Hon. Faleke expressed dissatisfaction with the accumulation of these debts, noting that while Nigerians are required to pay for tickets upfront, foreign airlines have been allowed to exceed the legally permitted two-week payment window.
“We need every kobo that belongs to this country,” Faleke stated, questioning why FAAN had not grounded defaulting foreign carriers as it frequently does with domestic operators.
Key resolutions from the committee hearing include:
- Two-Week Recovery Period: FAAN must recover the N18.98 billion and report back to the committee.
- Detailed Documentation: FAAN is required to provide the formal addresses and contact information of all debtor airlines.
- Potential Summons: Should the airlines fail to settle their liabilities within the deadline, the House of Representatives warned it would formally summon the operators to explain the delays.
- Interest Charges: Lawmakers queried whether the debts would attract interest, suggesting that allowing long-term accumulation without penalties undermines national revenue enforcement.
FAAN’s Position
Managing Director Olubunmi Kuku explained that the debt profile is a “rolling balance,” with figures fluctuating as new charges accrue and old ones are settled. She attributed some of the delays to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) clearing system, through which most international remittances are processed.
Kuku also highlighted that FAAN has recently implemented a full cashless policy at airport access gates to further plug revenue leakages and improve overall transparency in the agency’s financial operations.
