Abuja, Lagos top airport charges across Africa

The International Air Transport Organisation (IATA) on Wednesday decried high charges and sundry taxes in Nigeria and other African countries lamenting that the development is killing the African Airlines.

Vice-President, IATA, Africa and Middle East, Kamil Al Alwadi, stated that research shows that Nigeria ranks highest in airport charges in Africa, saying Abuja Airport is the most expensive airport in Africa, closely followed by the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

He spoke at the 7th African Aviation Summit and Exhibition held in Abuja as the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) lamented the poor air connectivity in Africa, saying out of the 1.4bn people in Africa, only 100,000 fly by air.

Alwadi stressed the need for the Nigerian government to reduce the about 27 charges imposed on African airlines amidst challenges with securing sustainable loan facilities.

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He said Nigerian airlines cannot survive with loans of about 28 percent interest while they are competing with airlines with access to loans of about seven percent, adding, “They are at disadvantage.

He said, “In a recent research conducted, we discovered that the most expensive airport in Africa is Abuja airport, followed by Lagos airport. With all these exorbitant charges, Nigerian airlines can’t compete with their foreign counterparts.

“Africa has put itself in a place where it cannot help its own, expensive fuel, excessive charges, leasing and insurance through the roof, the airlines need to be financially viable too. The airlines contribute to the country’s GDP but Nigeria needs to decide what to do for them to survive.”

According to him, carriers based in Africa are expected to generate a moderate combined loss of around USD500 million in 2023 because the continent remains a difficult market to operate.

“With total traffic up 38.9% compared to the same quarter in 2022, African carriers growth outperformed the industry-wide average for total and international traffic, even though the region has not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Q2 2023 RPKs were 9.2% below the same quarter in 2019.

Looking further ahead, over the next 20 years,  he said Africa’s passenger traffic will double, eclipsing 300 million passengers by 2040 at an annual average rate of 3.4%.