Airport Handovers: Who Keeps the Operational Memory? Auter

What do Lagos, Cabo Verde, and Brasília reveal about airport handovers?

On October 20, 2026, Nigeria's federal government, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, and Bi-Courtney Aviation Services signed an agreement ending a nearly two-decade dispute over Terminal 2 at Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos. Bi-Courtney waived a judgment award of 132 billion naira. The airport authority waived concession fees accumulated before the agreement. Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo summarized the outcome: "Today, the airport authority begins receiving its share under this agreement."

The headline was the end of the litigation. The more revealing detail, however, was how it ended. Twenty years of concession operations did not conclude with a reconciled balance. Both sides relinquished historical claims and began a new contractual relationship, with financial and operational obligations defined from scratch. When an airport's past cannot be reconciled through records, it is settled through a waiver.

That is the question behind every airport handover in Africa and Latin America today: when the operator changes, what does the airport actually know about itself?

Three transitions, one question

Lagos represents a contractual reset rather than a change of operator, but it exposes the problem in its starkest form. Two other cases show the same problem in a more common setting.

In Cabo Verde, VINCI Airports signed a 40-year concession in July 2022 for the country's seven airports, four international and three domestic. Until then, they had been operated by the state-owned airport operator. VINCI took over operations on July 24, 2023, alongside Aeroportos de Portugal, which owns 30% of the concession company, and took on more than 300 employees. According to the International Finance Corporation's environmental and social review, the first phase of works included mandatory improvements to bring the international airports into compliance with ICAO requirements and safety improvements at the domestic airports.

In Brazil, the civil aviation regulator approved a contract amendment on September 9, 2026, placing the concession for Brasília International Airport, operated by Inframérica, a Corporación América Airports company, into a new auction on December 17. The new contract includes investment and operating obligations for ten regional airports across five states, with approximately R$ 2.06 billion in planned investment. The winner inherits a hub with a long operational history and ten regional airports with their own operators, procedures, and records.

What does a concession contract transfer, and why do records matter for safety?

A concession contract transfers assets, obligations, personnel, and, through the regulator, the aerodrome certificate. The ICAO Manual on Certification of Aerodromes, Doc 9774, provides for certificate transfer. The European Union went further in 2024: Regulation 2024/1400 introduced explicit rules for changes of aerodrome operator and requires the incoming operator to apply for a certificate before the transfer date, with the stated objective of a safe, uninterrupted transition.

No contract can transfer a history that was never recorded. Who inspected the runway this morning, and at what time? Which occurrences from the past two years were investigated and closed, and which were merely reported? How long did each aircraft remain on the apron, and does that match the billing records? Who holds an access credential, who issued it, and when does it expire?

The safety implications of missing records

Annex 14, Volume I, requires States to certify aerodromes used for international operations, and certification establishes the basis for ongoing compliance monitoring. A certified aerodrome operator must maintain a safety management system (SMS) under Annex 19. This requirement also applies in Brazil.

An SMS depends on historical records. Hazard identification, safety performance indicators, and trend monitoring all rely on what was recorded previously. An incoming operator can maintain a valid certificate from day one yet still start its SMS from scratch, with no hazard register, no occurrence data series, and no inspection history for comparison. The certificate transfers. The foundation for safety management must be rebuilt.

What operational records exist beyond the major hubs, and how should they be assessed?

In Auter's experience, the vast majority of airports outside the major hubs have no operational memory to transfer. Some keep their core airport charge billing records in a system. Everything else, from security controls and inspections to aircraft parking details and passenger traffic, is fragmented across spreadsheets, paper forms, and manual processes. None of it is cross-referenced, because a manual recordkeeping system does not support that.

This last point matters most. An inspection that cannot be linked to the occurrence it should have prevented, or an apron record that cannot be checked against an invoice, is information the airport possesses but cannot use. When the operator changes, that is precisely what gets lost.

Operational due diligence

Concession processes already include legal, financial, and technical due diligence. Few include operational due diligence: an assessment of whether the airport's operational records exist, who owns them, and whether they can be cross-referenced. In practice, it asks four questions:

• Are airside inspections recorded with the time, inspector, and findings in a way that survives personnel changes?
• Does every reported occurrence have a documented outcome?
• Do apron movements and aircraft parking records match what was billed?
• Do aviation security, access credential, and training records belong to the aerodrome operator or to the people who maintain them?

The answers shape the first hundred days. An operator that assesses the airport it is taking over can build its SMS foundation, staffing plan, and compliance plan around actual conditions. An operator that does not may spend years discovering the airport it inherited. Cabo Verde had a year between signing and takeover. The winner in Brasília will have the period between the auction and the transfer. That is when the foundation is either built or deferred.

How do airport transitions differ between Africa and Latin America?

The two regions approach this issue from opposite directions. In Africa, Airports Council International Africa Secretary General Ali Tounsi stated before the association's 2026 assembly in Abuja that 80% of the continent's airports are not financially efficient, and identified digitalization as a major challenge. Only about 10% of African airports have been privatized, according to law firm Clyde & Co. The first wave of handovers still lies ahead: Egypt launched its first airport concession tender in January 2026, covering 11 airports, and Enugu was handed over to a private concessionaire in June.

Latin America is in its second wave. Most airports in the region are already operated by private companies under concession, and the current trend is toward renegotiations and bundled concessions. Argentina extended the Aeropuertos Argentina concession, which covers most of the country's regional airports, until at least 2049. Peru's third group of airports will be awarded as a single package to one concessionaire. Brazil is bundling ten regional airports with Brasília.

In Africa, the risk is that the first concessions begin without an operational records foundation. In Latin America, the risk is that the main asset has a sound foundation while the regional airports bundled with it have none.

Who will assess the airport that actually exists on day one?

The next round of handovers in both regions will be priced using traffic projections and investment plans. The remaining question is who will assess, on day one, the airport that actually exists.

Auter Airports addresses this need. Its platform was designed to digitize very different airports within the same framework, without the technical administration burden of traditional market solutions. This reduces costs and brings airports previously underserved by airport technology onto a common recordkeeping standard. With every inspection, occurrence, and movement recorded, the airport's operational history begins to be documented digitally for the first time.

Sources

• Federal Government, Bi-Courtney Settle 20-Year Terminal 2 Dispute, Waive 132 Billion Naira Claim, BusinessDay, October 22, 2026.
• Federal Government, Bi-Courtney End 20-Year Terminal 2 Dispute, New Telegraph, October 21, 2026.
• VINCI Airports Finalises Financial Structuring for Cabo Verde Airport Concession, VINCI, July 24, 2023.
• Cabo Verde Airports: Environmental and Social Review Summary, International Finance Corporation, 2023.
• Brasília Airport Concession Auction Scheduled for December, Correio Braziliense, September 2026.
• Concession for Brasília and 10 Other Airports to Be Presented to Investors, Panrotas, October 2026.
• Commission Delegated Regulation 2024/1400, European Union, EUR-Lex, March 13, 2024.
• Issuing and Maintaining Aerodrome Certification, Annex 14, Doc 9774, ICAO North American, Central American and Caribbean Regional Office, 2017.
• ICAO SMS Standards and Recommended Practices and Aerodrome Certification, ICAO North American, Central American and Caribbean Regional Office, 2016.
• Airports Council International Africa Annual General Assembly to Address Challenges Facing African Airports, The Guardian Nigeria, September 2026.
• Legal Aspects of Airport Projects in Africa, Clyde & Co, June 5, 2025.
• Egypt Launches First Concession Tender for Airports, Construct Africa, January 22, 2026.
• Federal Government Completes Handover of Enugu Airport to Concessionaires, TechEconomy, June 25, 2026.
• North and South American Airport Leaders Examine Concession Partnerships, Travel Markets Insider.
• Argentina Airport Concession Extended to 2049, Rio Times, September 28, 2026.
• ProInversión: The Third Group of Airports Could Be Awarded in 2028, El Comercio, October 2026.

What are the frequently asked questions about operational due diligence?

What is operational due diligence for an airport handover?

It is an assessment of whether operational records exist, who owns them, and whether they can be cross-referenced. It complements legal, financial, and technical due diligence by examining the information needed to operate the airport safely and maintain continuity.

Does transferring an aerodrome certificate also transfer its safety history?

No. A certificate transfer does not recover records that were never created or retained. The incoming operator needs hazard records, occurrence investigations, inspection histories, and safety performance data to maintain continuity in safety management.

Which records should an incoming operator assess?

The assessment should cover airside inspections, reported occurrences and their outcomes, apron movements, aircraft parking and billing records, aviation security records, access credentials, and training records. Ownership, completeness, and the ability to cross-reference these records are essential considerations.

When should operational due diligence take place?

It should take place before the operational transfer, using the transition period to establish the records foundation. This allows the incoming operator to base safety management, staffing, and compliance planning on the airport's actual conditions.