The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) Managing Director Olubunmi Kuku has said the aviation industry is increasingly confronting behavioural and interpersonal challenges.

According to her, incidents involving unruly passengers, staff conflicts, stakeholder tensions, and non-compliance with safety protocols threaten to undermine the progress made so far in safety and service excellence.

Kuku said this at this year’s FAAN’s Aviation Safety Week. She said the agency had taken decisive steps to curb or reduce unruly behaviour at the aerodromes by training frontline personnel in conflict de-escalation and behavioural awareness, enhance passenger facilitation processes to reduce stress and miscommunication.

Kuku said: “No single or ganisation 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 the regulator work in complete synergy.

According to her, this is to strengthen inter-agency collaborations to ensure clarity of roles and unified responses to conflict and above all, foster a culture of respect, professionalism, and accountability across all our airports. Former FAAN General Manager Yakubu Dati expressed concern over unruly passenger behaviour, with incidents compromising safety across airports.

He noted that aviation, by its very nature, is a complex system that relies on precision, coordination, and human cooperation. Beneath the technological sophistication of aircraft and the rigour of safety standards lies one fundamental truth: conflict is inevitable where human interaction exists.