The Financial Neighborhood of West African States (ECOWAS) has expressed sturdy opposition to Ghana’s new aviation tax.
The federal government has warned that the measures are inconsistent with agreed regional reforms and will weaken West Africa’s air transport sector.
In a sharply worded letter signed by ECOWAS Fee President Omar Aliu Touray, the regional physique stated Ghana’s new fees contradict a binding determination geared toward lowering the price of air journey throughout member states.
The letter refers to supplementary regulation A/SA.2/12/24, below which ECOWAS leaders agreed to abolish a number of air transport-related taxes in January 2026, together with the air ticket tax, tourism tax, solidarity tax and worldwide journey tax.
It additionally notes that member states have agreed to scale back key aviation fees, comparable to passenger service fees and safety charges, to make air journey extra inexpensive and enhance regional integration.
ECOWAS stated the reform, supported by the Worldwide Aviation Group, was pushed by considerations that West Africa stays one of the crucial costly areas on the planet for airfares.
However the fee says Ghana is shifting in the other way.
“The ECOWAS Fee due to this fact notes with concern that the Authorities of Ghana has…imposed a brand new safety charge of $18 on round-trip tickets from 1 February 2026,” the letter states.
He additionally talked about extra levies.
“Ghana Airports Company has imposed an Airport Infrastructure Growth Levy of $100 on round-trip worldwide journey with impact from April 1, 2026.”
The European Fee warned that these measures are in direct contradiction to regional agreements and worldwide aviation rules.
“The imposition of those extra levies by Ghana is in direct violation of the letter and spirit of the aforementioned ECOWAS Supplementary Regulation,” the ministry stated.
ECOWAS additionally referred to the Worldwide Civil Aviation Group’s pointers towards extreme taxation of air transport and linked the difficulty to world aviation requirements.
The letter warned that the brand new charges threat worsening affordability for passengers already affected by rising aviation gas prices.
“Air journey stays out of attain for a lot of Ghanaians and West African vacationers alike,” the report stated.
He argued that whereas such charges could also be offered as a income measure, they’re in the end counterproductive.
“This case will not be selling progress in demand for air transport within the area, however quite suppressing passenger journey,” the European Fee warned.
ECOWAS additionally pointed to weak passenger efficiency throughout West Africa’s main airports, together with Accra, Lagos, Abidjan and Dakar, blaming excessive taxes for suppressing demand regardless of excessive inhabitants potential.
The report stated the “foremost explanation for demand suppression within the ECOWAS area” was “extreme taxation and extreme tariffs”.
The fee additionally warned that continued reliance on these tolls may drive visitors away from the world.
“Continued taxation of the air transport sector will solely divert regional visitors to competing hubs,” it warned.
ECOWAS is now urging Ghana to vary course.
“In mild of the above, the ECOWAS Fee requests the Authorities of Ghana to instantly discontinue the brand new fees introduced towards it,” the letter states.
It additionally inspired Ghana to discover various financing fashions for aviation infrastructure, together with personal sector partnerships and help from growth banks.
The problem is predicted to type a part of the regional overview, and ECOWAS has confirmed that it’ll current a progress report on implementation at future ministerial and summit conferences.
