African countries continue to charge exorbitant airline taxes, increasing airfares, lowering passenger traffic and limiting airlines continental network growth, warns the African Airlines Association AFRAA Taxes and Charges Study Review for 2024.
As the aviation market recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have reintroduced and even raised taxes to offset fiscal deficits, leading to higher operational costs for airlines, said the report.
The report found that African air passengers pay an average of US68 R1218, a 3 increase compared with 2022, placing African taxes and charges above the Middle Easts average of US34 R609, and Europe with US30 R537.
The report found that North and West African countries have the highest international departure levies. It also noted that countries with some of the highest passenger traffic levels were also those with the lowest airline taxes.
Aviation the cash cowHistorically many African governments have looked at aviation as an easy cash cow target, but air transport industry bodies such as IATA, AASA, BARSA and AFRAA, as well as their counterparts in allied sectors, have increasingly flagged this issue as the biggest impediment to the overall sustainability of the airline industry on the continent and to broader economic growth and job creation, explains Linden Birns , the Founder of Plane Talking.