She said: “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 emphasize 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. It promotes trade, stimulates tourism, strengthens cultural and social ties, and contributes to the growth of our economies. In reality, there can be no free movement without transport facilitation. And among these facilitations, transport costs figure prominently.

“These 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: tourism.

“For my part, several factors may contribute to the high cost of air fares in our region. These include, among others: excessive taxation and high airport fees; a fragmented aviation market, with national airlines operating in isolation rather than in synergy; a lack of modern infrastructure adapted to the needs of air transport; weak implementation of agreements liberalizing African airspace, notably the Yamoussoukro Declaration.”

The Speaker further warned of the implications for the region’s long-term goals, noting that the ECOWAS Vision 2050 would remain elusive without an efficient and affordable air transport system.

“If we are to achieve the objectives of the third pillar of ECOWAS Vision 2050, ‘Economic Integration and Interconnectivity,’ it is up to us, as representatives of the peoples of ECOWAS and in view of our responsibility in the Community’s decision-making process, to explore viable and sustainable solutions. Our role is crucial in the realization of these reforms”, she warned.

Ibrahima therefore urged the Legislature to develop strong recommendations that would guide Member States and relevant institutions in establishing a policy framework for more accessible regional air transport.

“I am convinced that the discussions that will take place during this meeting, to which we have invited African air transport experts and leaders, will be fruitful and will lead to concrete proposals to address this major challenge.

“Together, let us commit to working towards more efficient regional aviation, serving the integration and development of our community and for significant progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the aspirations that underpinned the African Union’s Agenda 2063”, she added.

Delivering the keynote address, Vice-President of the Togolese National Assembly, Dzereke Yao, described the theme of the meeting as both timely and crucial. He stressed that the issue of air travel within West Africa can no longer be treated as secondary, given its central role in connecting economies and people across the sub-region.

“This paradoxical situation merits our attention because our community boasts considerable potential, whether in population size, economic growth, or youthful dynamism.

“I therefore hope that it will lead to solid, pragmatic, and ambitious recommendations,” he urged, adding that a competitive and open airspace would benefit all citizens in the region”, he said.

Yao explained that the geographical location of Togo and modern facilities, gave the country a strategic edge in facilitating regional air mobility.

The vice-president also ememphasised the importance of translating political will into sustainable reforms that will boost connectivity and unlock economic opportunities across the sub-region.

Alao ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalization, Sédiko Douka, disclosed that recent studies conducted by renowned organizations showed that air transportation within West Africa is still less than 10 percent, which represents the lowest.

According to Douka, this situation has become a barrier to the integration of the region. This is as he said the ECOWAS leadership was concerned with the situation and has mandated the Commission to coordinate and harmonize the air transport policies, programs, and projects of Member States.

He stressed the importance of the Lome meeting to address the gap, revealing that the meeting has the blessing of the Heads of State and Government.

He said: “The air tariff in West Africa remains excessively high compared to other countries in the world. In this case, it is less expensive to make the flight to another African country than to travel between two countries in ECOWAS. This situation is counterproductive for the future of the West African region and the collective airspace.

“That recent studies conducted by renowned organizations in 2024 have shown low growth in air transport in West Africa (less than 10%). This, at a time when other regions, for example, record 40.4% for North Africa, 21.4% for Southern Africa, and 20.5% for East Africa. Other comparisons made in terms of domestic flights, intra-African travel, major airlines, and airport size have also shown that West Africa lags far behind these same regions mentioned above.

“In response to this instruction, a meeting of Ministers responsible for Air Transport was convened on November 8, 2024, here in Lomé. The meeting concluded with modalities for the gradual reduction of taxes, fees, and charges aimed at making air transport more affordable. Thus, an Additional Act A/SA.2/12/24 6, relating to the common policy on fees, taxes and air transport charges in ECOWAS Member States and its implementation strategy, were adopted by the Ministers and submitted to the Conference of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS on December 15, 2024, which endorsed them.”

“Our primary concern is to comply with ICAO principles and recommendations on setting charges, which are: (i) non-discrimination between users, (ii) transparency, appropriate pricing for services provided, and (iii) user consultation.”

“The recommendations made by the Ministers to Member States for efficient regional air transport include, among others: Commit to eliminating all taxes in accordance with these ICAO principles and recommendations;”

“Reduce the passenger service charge and the security charge by 25%; reduce the cost of aviation fuel, etc.”

“All this, with the aim, I say, of making our region efficient in terms of air transport, with its 400 million inhabitants”, he said.

He also charged the meeting to consider the issue of common rules for passenger compensation in the event of denied boarding, cancellation, or significant delays of a flight within the ECOWAS region.

“The task now lies in working towards the implementation of these community texts by ECOWAS member states, whose effective implementation start date has been set for January 1, 2026, a 15-month period to allow them to prepare, particularly from a budgetary perspective”, he stated.

The ECOWAS Commissioner also charged Members of Parliament that the region is counting on them “to implement the community texts that the states themselves initiated and participated in the development, review, and adoption process.”

He therefore urged them to engage strongly with member states to raise awareness about the implementation of these additional acts with a view to the sustainable development of air transport in West Africa.

“As ECOWAS celebrates its 50th anniversary, it is an opportune time to highlight the organization’s visibility. While many achievements have been made in various areas/sectors of regional integration, these remain largely unknown to ordinary citizens, either due to a lack of awareness, communication, or simply the highly political orientation given to ECOWAS’s vision by stakeholders. Opportunities such as these allow you, as a Representative of the People, to gain a comprehensive view of the challenges, issues, strengths/weaknesses, opportunities/threats, and sectoral achievements,” he added.