FG and Bi-Courtney settle long-running MMA2 dispute: what changes at Lagos airport

The Federal Government has signed a settlement with Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, the operator of the MMA2 domestic terminal at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, ending a dispute over the terminal’s concession that has run for nearly two decades. The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, announced the deal at the signing in Abuja on Tuesday, 20 October 2026.

Under the agreement, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) will receive concession fees from MMA2 again, both sides drop their old claims against each other, and Bi-Courtney may handle regional flights within Africa at the terminal.

Why it matters

MMA2 is one of the main terminals for domestic flights in Lagos, the country’s busiest air hub. According to Keyamo, the dispute over its concession meant the airports authority earned nothing from the terminal for years.

“FAAN had not earned a kobo from MMA2 for the last 20 years because of disputes. Today, FAAN begins to earn its money from that settlement,” he said.

For passengers, nothing changes at check-in yet. None of the terms announced on Tuesday sets new passenger charges or a date for regional flights to start using MMA2.

What did both sides agree?

• Old claims dropped: Bi-Courtney waives all its outstanding claims against the government. In return, the Federal Government and FAAN release their historical claims against the company, including concession fees that built up before the settlement.
• The General Aviation Terminal: the agreement recognises the GAT, the old domestic terminal also known as MM1, as Federal Government property operated by FAAN.
• Regional flights: Bi-Courtney may expand its apron and accommodate regional flights within Africa at MMA2, subject to the terminal’s capacity.
• Hotel and conference centre: the agreement also covers Bi-Courtney’s leases for a planned four-star hotel and conference centre opposite the terminal, which FAAN terminated in April 2012.

Keyamo said the Federal Executive Council approved the terms of the negotiated settlement on 30 April 2026, and that the government did not engage or pay any external lawyer for the negotiations.

He also pressed the company to build the hotel and conference centre. “Everybody drives through there every day, so I am saying it before the camera: anytime you are driving through, look whether Babalakin is building that place and raise the alarm and call me if I am not there,” he said, referring to Bi-Courtney’s chairman, Wale Babalakin, who attended the signing.

Babalakin said the dispute had lasted more than 18 years and that the company would honour its commitments under the agreement.

How did the dispute start?

The concession agreement was signed on 24 April 2003 for the design, construction, operation and eventual transfer of a new domestic terminal in Lagos. The concession began on 7 May 2007 with an initial term of 12 years, which was later extended to 36 years.

Disagreements followed over the money each side said it was owed, the running of the terminal and control of nearby airport facilities. They led to years of litigation in several courts, some of which reached the Supreme Court. Tuesday’s settlement is meant to close those disputes.

What changes now? A GistMatrix reading

GistMatrix went through the terms announced at the signing. Three things stand out:

• Public revenue: FAAN will collect concession fees from MMA2 again, but neither the amount nor the share it will receive has been made public.
• Regional routes: the deal allows flights to other African countries to be handled at MMA2, alongside domestic flights. No date has been announced, and any move depends on the apron expansion and the terminal’s capacity.
• The GAT settled: confirming the old domestic terminal as government property run by FAAN removes one of the main points of conflict between the two sides.

What happens next

• FAAN’s first collections: watch for the authority to say what MMA2 now pays it under the settlement.
• Regional flights at MMA2: watch for Bi-Courtney’s plans for the apron and for the first airline to move a regional route there.
• The hotel and conference centre: the minister has asked the public to tell him whether construction starts.

The video with this story is Independent Television and Radio’s report on the signing. Do you fly through MMA2 or the GAT? Tell GistMatrix what you would like to see change at Lagos airport, and send us your photos and videos.