Why Flying Within Africa Is More Expensive Than Flying to Europe

Why Flying Within Africa Is More Expensive Than Flying to Europe

Flying from Nairobi to Lagos often costs more than flying from Nairobi to London. If that sounds backward—it’s because it is. In fact, many travelers across Africa routinely find that it’s cheaper and faster to fly out of the continent than to fly within it. This has raised a consistent and frustrating question: Why is air travel within Africa so expensive, limited, and inefficient?

This is not just a travel issue—it’s an economic, political, and developmental problem. The reasons stretch across multiple systems: policy restrictions, lack of infrastructure, weak airline competition, and outdated air service agreements. All these pieces fit together to form one truth: Africa’s skies are not truly open.

The Problem in Numbers

A traveler trying to fly from Accra to Kinshasa might pay more than someone flying from Accra to Paris. That’s despite the fact that the intra-African route is shorter.

• Intra-African flights can be 2–3 times more expensive than international flights.
• Many regional routes require layovers in European or Middle Eastern cities.
• Direct flights are rare, and routes between neighboring countries can take 8 to 24 hours.

Why? Let’s break it down.

1. Poor Connectivity and Route Structure

Most African airlines operate hub-and-spoke systems, meaning their operations are centered in a single country, and passengers are routed through that hub regardless of the destination.

For instance:

• Kenya Airways routes many flights through Nairobi.
• Ethiopian Airlines relies on Addis Ababa.
• Royal Air Maroc routes flights through Casablanca.

So instead of a quick hop between two West African cities, a traveler may have to fly to East Africa first—or even out of the continent entirely. This increases both flight time and ticket costs, often making cross-border travel unnecessarily complex.

2. Outdated Bilateral Agreements That Block Competition

Many African countries still rely on bilateral air service agreements (BASAs) that restrict how airlines operate across borders. These deals are often decades old and were written under political, rather than commercial, logic.

These agreements often:

• Limit which airlines can serve specific routes
• Dictate how frequently they can fly
• Restrict pricing flexibility
• Create protectionist monopolies for national carriers

This kills competition and keeps prices high. A new or cheaper airline can’t simply enter the market—it has to negotiate and get permission, which may never come.

3. The Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM): Still on Paper

The African Union launched the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) in 2018 to break down these outdated barriers. The idea was simple: let African airlines operate freely within the continent.

But here’s the reality:

• Only 35 countries have signed the SAATM agreement.
• Even fewer have actually implemented the reforms required.
• Some governments fear competition and protect their national carriers instead.

SAATM is not fully functional—and until it is, Africa will continue flying with one wing clipped.

4. Excessive Airport Fees, Taxes, and Fuel Costs

Airlines don’t just charge you for the distance—they pass along all their costs, and in Africa, those are steep.

• Jet fuel is often 30% more expensive than in Europe or the Middle East.
• Airport taxes and passenger fees can make up over 40% of a ticket price.
• Airlines pay high overflight and landing fees, especially when crossing multiple national airspaces.

All this makes it expensive to operate flights. And when airlines pay more, passengers pay more.

5. Few Airlines, Less Competition

The number of functioning airlines in Africa is limited. Many national carriers are either:

• Struggling financially
• Overregulated
• Operating under monopolistic protection

There’s little incentive to lower prices when there’s no competitor to beat. By contrast, Europe is flooded with low-cost airlines, and passenger demand is high, which naturally drives down prices.

Africa’s lower demand on certain routes, combined with fewer players, leads to high operating costs spread over fewer passengers—the perfect recipe for expensive tickets.

6. Visa and Border Restrictions Create Extra Hurdles

Even if you find a decent flight, getting a visa might be harder than booking the ticket.

• Many African countries still require visas from travelers of neighboring nations.
• These visas can be expensive, slow, and sometimes unpredictable.
• There’s no continent-wide free movement system like the EU’s Schengen Area.

This adds to the travel cost and discourages frequent regional movement. Instead of encouraging tourism or business travel within Africa, these barriers push people to fly out of the continent instead.

7. Economic and Developmental Consequences

This is not just a logistical problem—it holds back the entire continent.

• Intra-African trade is undercut by expensive logistics and limited air cargo options.
• Tourism between African nations remains low, despite rich cultural offerings.
• Businesses face high travel costs for regional expansion and operations.

This contradicts the goals of AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area), which aims to create a unified market across Africa. But if people and goods can’t move easily, trade can’t flourish.

8. What Needs to Happen Now

If Africa wants to bring down the cost of flying within the continent, here’s what must change:

• Commit fully to SAATM – not just in word, but in policy, practice, and infrastructure.
• Reform old bilateral agreements that restrict flight freedom.
• Cut taxes and fees that make tickets unaffordable for the average traveler.
• Invest in better aviation infrastructure across smaller cities and remote regions.
• Create visa-free zones or a continental passport to ease movement.

Most of all, African governments need to shift their mindset: from protecting national carriers at all costs, to building a competitive, open, and accessible airspace.

Final Thoughts

It shouldn’t cost more to fly from one African city to another than to fly to Europe. But as long as the skies remain closed by outdated rules, weak infrastructure, and protectionist thinking, African travelers will keep paying too much to stay within their own borders.

The continent has the knowledge, the policy tools, and the economic incentive to fix this. Now, it just needs the political will.