Regional rules
ECOWAS air charges reduction 2026
Short answer
- Decision
- Removal of air transport taxes and a 25 percent cut in passenger and security charges 2
- Start date
- 1 January 2026 2
- Legal basis
- Supplementary Act on Aviation Charges, Taxes and Fees, adopted at the December 2024 Abuja summit 2
- Ministers' meeting
- Lomé, Togo, reported by ECOWAS on 12 November 2024 1
- Monitoring
- Regional Air Transport Economic Oversight Mechanism of the ECOWAS Commission 2
- Status
- Announced, partly applied, as reported on 10 July 2026 6
What ECOWAS decided
ECOWAS reported on 12 November 2024 that its air transport ministers, meeting in Lomé, endorsed the plan 1. ECOWAS said charges, taxes and fees make up nearly 50 percent of the total cost of an air ticket in West Africa 1. The ministers called for eliminating all taxes as not in line with ICAO recommendations and for reducing two main charges, the passenger and security charges, by 25 percent 1. They agreed a one-year transition and a start no later than 1 January 2026 1.
On 10 December 2025 the ECOWAS Commission said all member states will abolish air transport taxes and cut passenger and security charges by 25 percent from 1 January 2026 2. It said the heads of state adopted the policy at the December 2024 summit in Abuja 2. The Commission will watch compliance through a Regional Air Transport Economic Oversight Mechanism 2. The ECOWAS release does not name each tax or give amounts 2.
Which taxes and charges
Aviation Week reported on 16 December 2025 that ECOWAS will remove non-cost-related taxes, and named the security tax 4. The report said four levies in total will go 4. The Sun reported on 10 July 2026 that ECOWAS Director of Transport Chris Appiah said two specific taxes and four charges were targeted for elimination or a 25 percent cut 6. The two reports count the items differently.
BusinessDay reported on 15 December 2025 that the 68th ordinary session in Abuja directed member states to apply the 25 percent cut from 1 January 2026 3. It cited a 2024 African Airlines Association study that found travellers paid an average of US$109.5 in taxes, charges and fees on international departures from West Africa in 2022 3.
Where it stands by country
This table lists what this site found reported. Status is as of the date of each source.
| Country | Reported status | Date of source |
|---|---|---|
| Côte d'Ivoire 6 | Taxes fully eliminated under the decision, according to ECOWAS 6 | 10 July 2026 6 |
| Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, Nigeria 5 | No implementing texts published 5 | 29 January 2026 5 |
| Sierra Leone 7 | US$25 airport security fee suspended from 6 July 2026 by the Ministry of Internal Affairs 7 | 5 July 2026 7 |
| Sierra Leone 6 | US$50 airport security charge "previously levied on all passengers" removed, according to ECOWAS Director of Transport Chris Appiah 6 | 10 July 2026 6 |
| Nigeria 8 | FAAN page still lists US$100 and US$80 passenger service charges 8 | Viewed 24 October 2026 8 |
| The Gambia 9 | UK advice still lists the US$20 airport security fee at kiosks 9 | 7 July 2026 9 |
| All 12 member states 6 | Compliance process begun, according to Chris Appiah 6 | 10 July 2026 6 |
Why fares did not fall at once
Ecofin Agency reported that governments must first issue decrees or ministerial orders, then send the changes to ATPCO so airline pricing systems can apply them 5. Its fare check on an Abidjan to Dakar ticket found taxes and fees of 257,100 CFA francs on a base fare of 218,100 CFA francs 5. The same report said Nigeria raised immigration data processing fees by US$11.5 from 1 December 2025 and Ghana planned a US$9 rise from 1 February 2026 5.
Chris Appiah said removing taxes requires revising national tax laws, consulting across ministries and renegotiating airport concession contracts, as reported by Chinelo Obogo 6. He said taxes can make up close to 60 to 65 percent of an average ticket, according to the same report 6. That figure differs from the ECOWAS estimate of nearly 50 percent in November 2024 1.
Official reactions
The African Airlines Association welcomed the decision, as reported by Ella Nethersole 4. Its Secretary General Abderahmane Berthe said success depends on implementation and urged airlines and regulators to pass savings on to travellers 4.
Common questions
When does the ECOWAS air ticket tax cut start?
ECOWAS set 1 January 2026 as the start date 2.
Which charges does ECOWAS cut by 25 percent?
The passenger charge and the security charge 1.
Why are West African air fares still high in 2026?
Ecofin Agency reported in January 2026 that several states had not published implementing texts or sent changes to airline pricing systems 5.
Has any country applied the ECOWAS cut?
The Sun reported on 10 July 2026 that Côte d'Ivoire fully eliminated its taxes. It quoted ECOWAS Director of Transport Chris Appiah as saying Sierra Leone confirmed it had removed a US$50 airport security charge 6.
Rules and charges change. Check the official source linked on this page before you pay or travel. Spotted an error? Email hello@africapassengercharges.com.
Sources
- ECOWAS: ECOWAS Air Transport Ministers Endorse Regional Strategy to Remove Taxes from Air Transport and Reduce Charges By 25%, Effective January 1, 2026 (12 November 2024)
- ECOWAS: ECOWAS adopts measures to reduce Air transport taxes and charges and lower the cost of air travel in west Africa, from 1st January 2026 (10 December 2025)
- BusinessDay, as reported by Oluwatosin Ogunjuyigbe: ECOWAS orders 25% cut in air transport charges from January 2026 (15 December 2025)
- Aviation Week, as reported by Ella Nethersole: AFRAA Applauds Abolition Of Airfare Taxes Across West Africa (16 December 2025)
- Ecofin Agency, as reported by Lydie Mobio, Ingrid Haffiny and Henoc Dossa: ECOWAS: Why Airfares Remain High One Month After Tax Cuts (29 January 2026)
- The Sun Nigeria, as reported by Chinelo Obogo: ECOWAS slashes aviation taxes by 25% to crash airfares (10 July 2026)
- Pan African Visions, as reported by Ishmael Sallieu Koroma: Sierra Leone Suspends $25 Airport Security Fee as Government Reviews Contract (5 July 2026)
- Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria: Aeronautical charges (undated page, last modified 5 March 2023, viewed 24 October 2026)
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: The Gambia travel advice, entry requirements (updated 7 July 2026)
Related
- Nigeria passenger charges
Nigeria's passenger service charge, 5 percent ticket sales charge, NCAA security and APIS charges, visa rules and the ECOWAS cut, with sources.
- Ghana passenger charges
Ghana's Airport Infrastructure Development Charge from 1 April 2026, the US$18 API/PNR fee, reported amounts and the ECOWAS response.
- Côte d'Ivoire passenger charges
Côte d'Ivoire's 25 percent cut in charges on intra-ECOWAS flights from April 2026, reported ticket taxes at Abidjan and SNEDAI e-visa fees.
- Airport security fees in Africa
Airport security charges and fees in Nigeria, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, the DR Congo and Cameroon, how they are collected, and the ECOWAS 2026 cut.
- What taxes and charges are in an air ticket
The taxes, fees and charges added to the fare on flights in Africa, who sets them, how airlines collect them, and what the rules say about price changes.