By Obasola Olatunde
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has raised concerns over the growing number of unruly passengers, staff conflicts, and non compliance with safety protocols within the nation’s airports warning that such behavior threatens to undermine the steady progress made in aviation safety and service excellence.
The Managing Director of FAAN, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, who gave the warning during the 2025 edition of the FAAN Aviation Safety Week in Lagos, said disruptive behavior by passengers and poor conflict management among airport stakeholders have become major operational risks requiring urgent and collective attention.
Speaking on the theme, “Navigating Conflict for a Safer Aviation in Nigeria,” Kuku said stakeholders in the aviation value chain must recognise that conflict, though inevitable, must be managed proactively to prevent it from escalating into safety concerns.
“Conflict is not only a disruption but a reality. No single organisation can build safety in isolation. Safety is collective, and so must our response be. We must shift from siloed efforts to integrated safety strategies where security agencies, airlines, handlers, concessionaires, unions, and regulators work in complete synergy,” she said.
Represented by the Director of Human Resources and Administration, Dr. Emiola Luqman, the FAAN boss disclosed that the authority has introduced new measures to manage behavioural risks and enhance safety culture at airports.
These, she said, include training frontline personnel in conflict de escalation and behavioural awareness, improving passenger facilitation processes to reduce stress induced confrontations, and strengthening inter agency collaboration to ensure unified responses to potential conflicts.
Corroborating her remarks, a former General Manager, Public Affairs at FAAN and one time Plateau State Commissioner for Information, Hon. Yakubu Dati, warned that the aviation industry had recorded a significant rise in incidents involving unruly passengers in the last decade a trend he described as a growing safety concern.
Citing a 2024 report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Dati revealed that disruptive passenger events now occur at a rate of one in every 568 flights, with verbal abuse, intoxication, and non-compliance among the leading causes.
He also referenced findings by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) identifying “air rage” and onboard aggression as safety critical issues, urging member states, including Nigeria, to integrate behavioural risk management into their national safety systems.
“Effective conflict management in aviation requires the integration of negotiation, mediation, communication, and Safety Management Systems (SMS). These tools ensure that disagreements are addressed constructively before escalating into crises that could compromise passenger safety or disrupt operations,” Dati said.
According to him, conflict navigation for a safer aviation sector involves not only resolving disputes but also building institutional frameworks, leadership capacity, and communication systems that foster a culture of safety, trust, and collaboration across the industry.
The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Safety Standards, Rt. Hon. David Idris Zacharias, commended FAAN for its proactive steps in promoting safety awareness but urged the agency to sustain collaboration with other government bodies, operators, and professionals to achieve global best practices.
“Safety is a continuous process. Areas of improvement should be constantly reviewed to maintain Nigeria’s commitment to international aviation standards,” he noted.
Also speaking, FAAN’s General Manager, Safety Services, Mrs. Mba Ifeoma Lorrettor, reaffirmed that safety is not merely a policy within the authority but the defining culture that sustains public confidence in Nigeria’s airports.
“Safety defines our operation and sustains the trust of the travelling public. It is a value embedded in every aspect of FAAN’s service delivery,” she said.
With air passenger traffic increasing and operational pressures mounting, experts at the event urged stakeholders to see conflict management as a core part of aviation safety strategy essential for ensuring a secure, efficient, and globally competitive air transport system.