Lagos (LOS): use the dispatch desk, and budget two hours for 22 kilometres
Criminals posing as greeters are a named problem here, and FAAN now runs a car hire rank that records the operator, driver and vehicle. Use it, or a car your hotel sent.
- The airport is in Ikeja, about 22 km from Victoria Island. The drive takes 45 minutes to 2.5 hours depending entirely on Lagos traffic.
- FAAN runs its own car hire rank and dispatch system at the airport, linking each pick-up to a registered operator, a named driver and a specific vehicle.
- You do not need an app to use it. A dispatch desk serves passengers who have just landed with no local data.
- The fare shown is an estimate and you can agree the final number with the driver. Airport rates account for the driver returning empty.
- Airport taxis run about 20,000 to 40,000 naira to Victoria Island, negotiable and unmetered.
- Bolt and Uber are roughly 10,000 to 25,000 naira for the same trip, with surge common.
- Ikeja itself is 8,000 to 15,000 naira, Lekki Phase 1 is 30,000 to 50,000.
- Avoid unofficial touts. Overcharging visitors is common and the saving is not the point.
- The international and domestic terminals are about a kilometre apart. A domestic connection is a road transfer, not a walk.
- The international terminal is the one commissioned on 22 March 2022. Older descriptions of the building are out of date.
The distance is not the problem
- 22 km to Victoria Island, and a drive that runs from 45 minutes to two and a half hours. Lagos traffic, not geography, decides.
- Treat an early departure as a night-before problem. Whatever your map says, add a lot.
- The main road out, via the Third Mainland Bridge, is well lit and heavily used, which is the reason a late arrival is manageable if the car is arranged.
The dispatch desk
- FAAN operates a car hire rank management system at its airports, and the point of it is traceability: a dispatch is tied to a registered operator, a driver whose licence and identity number have been checked, and a vehicle with its own paperwork on file.
- There is a dispatch desk as well as an app, which FAAN says exists precisely for visitors without a smartphone, data or local app access.
- The price shown is an estimate. The rate takes account of an airport car making the return leg empty, and the passenger and driver may agree the final fare between them.
- Uber and Bolt are not banned from Lagos. FAAN's rules cover commercial pick-ups inside its own airports; the apps work everywhere else in the city.
Fares, as published by an independent guide
| Destination | Airport taxi | Bolt or Uber |
|---|---|---|
| Ikeja | 8,000 to 15,000 NGN | lower |
| Victoria Island | 20,000 to 40,000 NGN | 10,000 to 25,000 NGN |
| Lekki Phase 1 | 30,000 to 50,000 NGN | lower |
- A pre-booked transfer to Victoria Island is quoted at 25,000 to 45,000 naira. You are paying for certainty rather than a better rate.
- Airport taxis have no meters. The number is whatever you agree, which is the argument for the dispatch desk or an app.
The thing to actually be careful about
- Make whoever meets you prove who they are. The FCDO's wording for Nigeria's international airports is that criminals posing as greeters are a problem.
- A sign with your name on it is not identification. Ask for the booking reference or the company name and check it against your own booking.
- Walk to your arranged pickup point rather than stopping in the hall. Keep your bags close and do not accept help with them.
The terminals
- The international and domestic terminals sit about one kilometre apart and share the runways. GAT and the privately built MMA2 handle domestic traffic.
- The current international terminal was commissioned on 22 March 2022, built for 14 million passengers a year, and every airline was moved into it by October 2023. Guides describing the old building are describing something you will not see.
- This is the base for Air Peace, Nigeria's largest airline, and the busiest airport in the country.
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