By Sheikh A. Tejan Nyang, Tourism Consultant
The recent announcement that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has resolved to abolish air ticket taxes effective January 1, 2026, is welcome news, particularly for the tourism, trade, and travel-dependent economies of our region.
For years, West Africa has carried the unenviable label of having the most expensive air transport services on the African continent, a situation that has constrained regional integration, suppressed tourism growth, limited intra-African mobility, and weakened the competitiveness of West African airlines. Mr. Chris Appiah, Director of Transport and Telecommunications at the ECOWAS Commission, confirmed that government-imposed taxes and aviation charges are significant drivers of these high costs. Many of these taxes run counter to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines and end up suppressing demand rather than supporting growth.
ECOWAS Policy: What It Means
Under a Supplementary Act adopted in December 2024, ECOWAS member states are mandated to remove all air transport taxes by January 1, 2026, reduce mandatory aviation charges by at least 25%, and fully eliminate certain taxes, including the controversial “security tax,” which have no meaningful link to aviation service provision.
This measure was endorsed by ECOWAS Heads of State at their 2023 Abuja Summit, with transport and finance ministers charged with implementation. The intention is to boost regional connectivity, which is essential for trade, tourism, business, education, and cultural exchange.
How Much Do Tickets Really Cost Today?
To appreciate the urgency of this reform, consider actual flight prices on key West African routes with current taxes included:
Banjul to Dakar (Senegal). Round-trip airfares from approximately $170-$295, depending on airline and season. One-way prices can be as low as $78–$83 on budget provisions. Banjul to Accra (Ghana). Typical round-trip fares are around $815–$964.
These figures are striking when compared to shorter distances; for example, the Banjul–Dakar flight (~45 minutes) often costs more than some medium-haul international flights elsewhere. This is despite the proximity that could otherwise make this corridor a hub for tourism, business trips, medical travel, and cultural exchange.
In contrast, flights between other regional hubs (e.g. Lagos to Accra) can be found for hundreds of dollars less due to more liberal aviation policies, lower charges, and stronger competition.
Tourism and Economic Impacts
For the tourism sector, affordability and accessibility are pivotal. High airfares discourage short-stay leisure tourism, hurt conference and business travel markets, reduce regional travel by students, diaspora, and professionals, limit inbound tourism competitiveness, and lower fares directly affect tourist volumes, which in turn stimulates hotel occupancy, ground transportation demand, and out-of-airport spending. It also makes regional travel more attractive to international tour operators packaging multi-destination West African itineraries.
The Gambian Situation: A Case in Point
In The Gambia, travellers often shoulder two layers of charges:
Taxes that are embedded in the airline ticket, additional levies at airport check-in (often referred to informally as a “security gate tax” implemented by Securiport as directed by The Gambia government.
The latter is not recognised by IATA or incorporated into official ticket pricing standards because Gambian tickets are already considered over-taxed under international norms. These multiple charges cumulatively inflate the total cost of travel, creating a barrier to frequent movement and tourism growth.
Will the Policy Be Effectively Implemented?
The promise of tax abolition is significant, but it will only deliver results if fully implemented across all member states. Challenges remain, including revenue protection instincts among finance ministries, Weak enforcement and monitoring mechanisms, and potential replacement of abolished taxes with similarly burdensome charges under different names without clarity and transparency on compliance. These reforms risk becoming declarations rather than lived reality.
What Must Happen Next
For the ECOWAS air tax reform to succeed and deliver tangible benefits:
Political commitment at the highest level in each member state, transparent publication of aviation fees, and incentive alignment with airlines to ensure fare reductions are passed on to consumers, tourism sector engagement in policy rollout and messaging, monitoring, and public reporting on implementation progress.
Conclusion
If enacted as planned, the removal of air ticket taxes from January 2026 could be transformational for West African tourism and economic integration. It stands to lower travel costs, deepen connectivity, boost intra-regional tourism, and stimulate economic activity across multiple sectors.
But implementation matters. Policies must be enforced with integrity, and savings must translate into real price reductions for travellers.
Affordable air travel is not a luxury, it is a development imperative that can unlock new opportunities for people and economies across West Africa.
