Despite shorter distances, domestic air travel remains largely unaffordable in many African countries, where ticket prices often approach or exceed minimum wages despite the time and comfort advantages over road transport.

Benin reopened its domestic air market on Monday, March 23, with the inaugural flight of Amazone Airlines. The carrier operates an approximately one-hour route between Cotonou and Parakou, the main northern city, at a promotional fare of 50,000 CFA francs ($88). While that price is lower than fares seen on other African markets, it still represents nearly 96% of the local minimum wage.

That gap between ticket prices and income levels is not unique to Benin. In Nigeria, the cheapest flights between Abuja and Lagos start at around 100,000 nairas for a journey of under two hours, while the national minimum wage is set at 70,000 nairas. In Côte d'Ivoire, travelers must pay between 118,400 and 122,300 CFA francs to fly from Abidjan to Korhogo or San Pedro, well above the monthly minimum wage of 75,000 CFA francs.

The same pattern is seen across the continent. In Cameroon, a ticket between Yaoundé and Douala on CamairCo starts at around 43,000 CFA francs, nearly equivalent to the minimum wage. Even in Kenya, East Africa's largest economy, fares between Nairobi and Mombasa on Kenya Airways exceed 9,000 Kenyan shillings, or just over half the minimum wage.

Airport taxes between countries are often cited as a driver of high intra-African airfares, but they do not fully explain the situation. Even on short domestic routes within a single country, air travel remains out of reach for much of the population. According to IATA, the average worker in most European and North American countries needs fewer than five working days to afford a plane ticket, compared with more than 15 days in virtually all sub-Saharan African countries.

Cost Pressures

Where prices appear high relative to incomes, they largely reflect a particularly demanding cost structure for airlines. In Nigeria, industry players point to a multiplicity of taxes and fees that can account for up to 70% of a ticket price, directly pushing up the final cost for passengers.

On top of that fiscal pressure lies a structural imbalance. Airlines sell tickets in local currency but bear most of their expenses in foreign currency. Aircraft leases, maintenance and spare parts are paid predominantly in dollars, leaving operators directly exposed to exchange-rate fluctuations. In an environment of high interest rates, these constraints severely limit carriers' ability to offer more affordable fares.

Fuel costs add further pressure. In Nigeria, fuel accounts for more than 40% of operating costs, in a context where local supply chains remain poorly optimized. Operational constraints that reduce efficiency across the sector — including delays in spare parts delivery and low aircraft utilization — add further pressure on airline profitability. Under these conditions, fares are not simply a commercial choice by airlines, but the product of an economic and operational environment that makes any significant price reduction difficult.

Levers for Change

Beyond the structural constraints, some experiences on the continent suggest this situation is not inevitable. Developing air connectivity appears to be a central lever for improving the affordability of air travel. Kenya, for example, had 28 airports served by regular commercial flights and was directly connected to 44 countries in 2023, with 82 daily international flights operated by 44 airlines.

That expansion has been accompanied by a gradual improvement in affordability. Between 2011 and 2023, the average real price of plane tickets in Kenya fell by 54%. In 2023, that translated into higher usage, with 106 flights per 1,000 inhabitants, a sign of a more dynamic and progressively more accessible market, even if ticket costs still represent several weeks' wages for much of the population.

This trend illustrates the role that public policy, infrastructure investment and market liberalization can play in gradually reducing costs and improving supply. But the other major challenge remains raising population incomes to rebalance the relationship between airfare prices and purchasing power. Beyond efforts on costs and infrastructure, it is that gap which largely explains the persistent inaccessibility of flights, whether domestic or international.

Emiliano Tossou