ECOWAS moves to cut air travel costs with major aviation tax reforms

The resolution was adopted during the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government Summit held in Abuja in December 2024, where regional leaders endorsed a Supplementary Act on Aviation Charges, Taxes and Fees designed to address one of the major obstacles to West African integration: the steep cost of intra-regional air travel.

For decades, flying within West Africa has remained disproportionately expensive compared with similar distances elsewhere, a problem driven by an accumulation of national taxes, fuel surcharges, security payments and a range of other levies applied by different governments.

Under the newly approved framework, all 15 ECOWAS countries are mandated to completely scrap specific air transport taxes and cut remaining passenger service and security charges by 25 per cent.

The reform aims to make air travel more affordable, boost tourism and business mobility, strengthen the competitiveness of local airlines, expand trade routes, and enhance the free movement of people and goods—one of the foundational principles of the ECOWAS Treaty.

To guarantee full implementation, the ECOWAS Commission will supervise the rollout through a newly created Regional Air Transport Economic Oversight Mechanism.

Aviation experts across the region have applauded the initiative, calling it a transformative step for West Africa’s long-neglected and underserved air transport sector.

The new measures are scheduled to come into force on 1 January 2026, providing airlines and national regulators a one-year window to update policies, systems and operating procedures.