Competition in air transport, consumer protection and dispute resolution mechanisms were the focus of a consultative workshop organised by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which opened on Wednesday, 4 March 2026, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The workshop brought together regional stakeholders to examine regulatory frameworks and operational practices across the West African aviation sector, with the objective of strengthening the implementation of Community rules and improving service standards for passengers.
According to the ECOWAS Commission’s Director of Transport, Chris Appiah, the meeting marked an important step in the collective efforts of ECOWAS Member States to improve the air transport sector in the West African region.
Speaking on behalf of the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Alieu Touray, who also oversees the Commission’s Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation Department, Appiah recalled the objectives set out in Article 32 of the revised ECOWAS Treaty of 1993, which commits Member States to developing coherent policy frameworks that promote regional integration in the areas of transport and communications.
He noted that despite its considerable potential, the air transport sector in West Africa continued to face significant challenges. These included the misalignment of national frameworks with regional legal instruments, inadequate control mechanisms, and the absence of a clear regional mechanism to ensure the effective implementation of these provisions.
Appiah said the Community’s vision for the sector remained the development of a robust, transparent and integrated regional air transport system capable of providing safe, reliable, efficient and affordable services.
To support this objective, he urged ECOWAS Member States to commit collectively to developing common policies and regulations, promoting regional air services, encouraging cooperation on flight scheduling and aircraft leasing, and consolidating West African airlines in order to improve their efficiency and profitability.
Also present at the workshop, the Chairperson of the ECOWAS Parliament’s Infrastructure Committee, Honourable Sako Mamadou, welcomed the synergy of action between Community institutions aimed at addressing the challenges of regional integration.
Among the challenges facing the sector, Mamadou cited the difficulties experienced by passengers confronted with poor services, the lack of effective recourse mechanisms, and the direct correlation between the high cost of air tickets and the practices of certain actors within the aviation sector.
He also highlighted the persistent gap between Community law and national realities, recalling that many ECOWAS Member States were struggling to enforce key regional legal instruments at the national level. These included the Supplementary Act and its amendment relating to passenger compensation, as well as the Additional Act of 15 December 2024, which provides for the abolition of non-compliant taxes.
Mamadou noted that the failure to apply Community standards created legal uncertainty for travellers and distorted competition between carriers. He called for the harmonisation of national consumer protection frameworks, the establishment of accessible and effective complaint mechanisms, and stronger measures to combat non-compliant taxes.
He further noted that the ECOWAS region had 172 different taxes and charges applied to air transport, including ticket taxes and solidarity taxes, which continued to place pressure on the purchasing power of West African citizens despite the December 2024 decision to abolish non-compliant taxes.
Reducing the cost of air transport would make aviation more accessible to passengers, strengthen fair competition between airlines, support economic development and stimulate regional integration.
Opening the workshop, Kumba Margaret Kamara, Head of Consumer Protection in Sierra Leone, whose country currently holds the ECOWAS presidency, urged participants to formulate relevant recommendations that could help clean up the regional air transport sector.
The workshop aimed to strengthen the understanding and application of Community texts, promote the establishment of a regional consumer protection mechanism, and improve dispute resolution mechanisms within the West African air transport sector.
The initiative formed part of a broader strategic approach aimed at ensuring a consistent regional regulatory framework, improving the quality and reliability of air transport services, and strengthening the competitiveness of the West African aviation market.
