West Africa remains the region with the most expensive operating environment for airlines, Dr. Samson Fatokun, IATA’s Area Manager for West and Central Africa, has said.

Speaking at the 4th AviationGhana Stakeholders Meeting held in Ghana’s capital Accra on Tuesday, January 31, 2023, he said that for the region to achieve full recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 PANDEMIC by 2024, policy makers must avoid imposing new taxes and levies or increase existing ones.

” Now is not the time to increase or impose new taxes. Several studies have shown that West Africa is the most expensive region for airlines to operate. The taxes are just too high.”

He said the high taxes, fees and charges are responsible for the high cost of Air tickets in the region.

Dr. Fatokun was speaking as a panelist at the 4th AviationGhana Stakeholders Meeting held in Accra, Ghana.

The 4th Aviation Ghana Stakeholders Meeting was organised under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport and the Board of Airline Representatives, Ghana (BARGH). The Programme was sponsored by Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, and RwandAir, Africa World Airlines (AWA), with support from the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), and Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL).