LAGOS – Ticket racketeering is currently gaining traction at most Nigerian airports, especially at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, where a one-way ticket out of the airport has skyrocketed to N250,000.
Many unsuspecting and desperate passengers are swindled by most of the airlines staff in connivance with airport touts to intentionally hoard air tickets and sell such to highest bidding travelers at the terminal in the last moments of departing flight.
Also, investigation by Daily Independent revealed that rather for these touts to allow air travelers pay across the counters, using the airlines Point of Sales(PoS) machines, they fraudulently produce private PoS machines to passengers to make payment.
Investigation by Daily Independent indicated that this heinous act is happening regularly at the General Aviation Terminal (GAT), and the Murtala Muhammed Airport Two (MMA2), all in Lagos.
Further investigations also revealed that this dastardly act in connivance with some airlines staff is being carried out by airport cleaners, trolley staff, airport staff and others.
The number of touts and touting activities have continued to be on the rise at the nation’s airports despite the efforts of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) of riding the airports of such.
It is extremely difficult for air travelers to secure seats in most of the domestic airlines to major routes in the country 48 hours to scheduled flight as the seats are blocked by touts and some airline staff.
Searches on the booking portals of some of the indigenous airlines usually indicate that most of the tickets are either ‘sold out’, or only have one or three seats available 48 hours before departure, which prompted desperate travelling passengers to patronise touts at the airports.
At MMA2 on Saturday, Daily Independent observed that touts within the terminal approached unsuspecting passengers for the procurement of air tickets.
It was observed that a one-way ticket from Lagos to Abuja for passengers travelling the same day, cost between N220,000 and N250,000, depending on who accosted you and your bargaining power.
It was observed that the touts working closely with some of the airlines staff would get a code for payment, using a private PoS machine for a willing passenger.
Also, some of the passengers who bought Aero Contractors and Arik Air tickets at the exorbitant rates for flight on Saturday, could still not travel as planned as the two airlines canceled their evening flights to Abuja.
Some of them were re-scheduled for Sunday morning by the two airlines.
One of the affected passengers who gave her name as Mrs. Taiwo Abdulkadir, in an interview with Daily Independent at the GAT, lamented that touting activities in collusion with some airline staff was on the increase.
According to Abdulkadir, who was unable to secure ticket through the portal of one of the major airlines, had come to the airport to buy a one-way ticket to Abuja, but was introduced to one of the touts by an unnamed airline staff.
She explained that the tout had offered to sell the ticket to her at N250,000, but not with the airline’s PoS machine, but a private machine without traceable name.
- She expressed surprise how the touts were able to gain entrance into the departure terminal of the airport, warning that if not quickly nipped in the bud, standards would continue to drop in the industry.
