West Africa’s ECOWAS bloc will abolish air ticket taxes across all airports from January 1, 2026, in a bid to lower some of the highest airfares on the continent, a senior official has announced.
Francis Appiah, Executive Secretary of the Banjul Accord Group Aviation Safety Oversight Organisation (BAGASOO), said the decision follows years of technical and economic studies showing that taxes and statutory charges account for the bulk of ticket prices in the subregion.
He said the directive was approved by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in December 2024 and is now being operationalised across member states.
“From 1st January 2026, the Heads of State have agreed that all Member States should remove taxes on air transport,” Appiah said. “These taxes are against ICAO guidelines and suppress demand rather than support growth.”
According to Appiah, studies show that 64 percent to 70 percent of the cost of a typical airline ticket in West Africa is made up of taxes and charges significantly higher than in East, North or Southern Africa. The result, he said, is a fare environment that discourages travel, undermines trade, and limits regional integration.
He argued that the heavy tax burden has helped make West Africa the most expensive air travel market on the continent. “For a trader buying goods from Lagos to Dakar, for instance, a ticket will not cost less than US$3,000, and a lot of that is taxes,” he said.
Appiah said ECOWAS is already in talks with airlines to ensure reductions are passed on to passengers once the tax structure is dismantled. “The consumer must feel the impact of this reform,” he added.
He noted that other African regions charge much lower fees in some cases up to 67 percent less allowing airlines such as Ethiopian Airlines, South African Airways and Royal Air Maroc to operate profitably, while West African carriers struggle to remain competitive under a punitive cost regime.
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The official said the tax removal plan aligns with ECOWAS’ long-standing aspiration for regional integration, which requires affordable and seamless connectivity to support the free movement of people, goods and services.
He said the bloc is working with governments, parliaments and aviation authorities to ensure full implementation of the policy by the January 2026 deadline.
