The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has listed Nigeria among African countries where aviation taxes and charges were significantly above global benchmarks, as the global body renewed its concerns over the rising cost of air travel across the continent.
This is just as Nigeria’s leading carrier, Air Peace, has shed light on the incident involving its Lagos-Gatwick, London flight on May 1, 2026, which led to the flight’s eventual cancellation, and has blamed the disruption on a bird strike.
According to a Nairametrics report, IATA made the disclosure at its Focus Africa Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where it said Nigeria, alongside Angola, Ghana, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, were among countries imposing aviation-related charges well above international norms.
According to IATA, aviation charges in Africa were, on average, about 15 per cent higher than the global average, a development it said continued to inflate ticket prices, suppress passenger demand, and weaken regional air connectivity.
The association noted that the elevated cost environment had sustained long-standing concerns over the competitiveness of African aviation, particularly in West Africa, where travellers and airlines faced some of the heaviest cost burdens on the continent.
IATA specifically urged African governments to reverse the growing trend of imposing Advance Passenger Information and Passenger Name Record (API-PNR) charges, warning that such levies were worsening the continent’s already expensive operating climate.
It noted that while Tanzania currently has the world’s highest API-PNR charge at $45 one-way, Nigeria and several other African countries also imposed charges above global standards.
The body further called for full implementation of the December 2025 decision by the Economic Community of West African States to eliminate certain aviation taxes and reduce select charges by 25 per cent, stressing that delayed or inconsistent implementation by member states could undermine the reform’s intended impact.
For Nigeria, the latest IATA warning reinforces concerns over the cumulative burden of multiple aviation levies. The country generated about $62 million from airline ticket taxes in 2024 and introduced an additional $11.50 security levy under its Advance Passenger Information System effective December 2025, pushing total security-related charges on international tickets to $31.50.
Ejiofor Alike and Chinedu Eze
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