Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Mémounatou Ibrahima and other stakeholders have decried the high fares of traveling by air within West Africa, saying such was inimical to subregional economic growth.
They made this known at the opening session of a Delocalised Meeting of ECOWAS Parliament’s Joint Committee on Infrastructure, Energy and Mines, Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources, on Tuesday in Lomé.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event has as its theme: “Air Transport as a Means of Integration for West African Peoples: A Strategy for Reducing Airline Ticket Costs.”
It was held to enable stakeholders and experts to brainstorm on the development and chat the way forward.
The speaker noted that there would not be free movement of people within West Africa without effective and affordable transportation, and air transport was a vital tool for regional economic development and integration.
According to her, the prohibitive airfares are obstacles to the successful implementation of the ECOWAS Free Movement Protocols to achieve its ECOWAS of the People vision.
“The theme that brings us together today, ‘Air Transport as a Means of Integration for West African Peoples: A Strategy for Reducing Airline Ticket Costs,’ is of paramount importance to our community.
“It reflects a major issue facing our citizens: the prohibitive costs of air travel between our countries, which hinder the free movement of people and compromise our ambitions for regional integration.
“Therefore, there is no need to emphasise the importance of air transport in a country’s economy, especially within a sub-regional community.
“Indeed, air transport is an essential lever for economic development and sub-regional integration,” she said.
The speaker further said that air transport promoted trade, stimulated tourism, strengthened cultural and social ties, and contributed to the growth of member states’ economies.
She attributed the soaring air fares to multiple taxes and charges imposed across airports in the region.
“For my part, several factors may contribute to the high cost of airfares in our region.
“The airports contribute financially to state budgets in several ways, including landing fees, air ticket taxes, security taxes, non-aviation taxes, and revenues from commercial activities at the airport.
“However, it is clear that all these fees make air ticket costs prohibitive within the ECOWAS region, thus hampering a major driver of development, which is tourism.
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