Public frustration over domestic airfares in Ghana often points toward high ticket prices, but legal practitioner and competition economist Appiah Kusi Adomako, Esq., emphasizes that a high ticket price is not automatically proof of high airline profits or corporate exploitation.
Proving excessive pricing would require access to proprietary airline financial data, including load factors, passenger yields, aircraft utilization, lease agreements, financing terms, maintenance schedules, insurance premiums, airport fees, individual route profitability, and return on capital, none of which are publicly available.
Instead, Lawyer Appiah Kusi Adomako‘s analysis demonstrates that high airfares are driven by six underlying economic and market forces.
High Aviation Fixed Costs
Aviation is an industry defined by massive overhead expenses that remain constant regardless of passenger numbers. The economist argues that aircraft lease payments or financing structures, insurance, mandatory pilot and crew training, regulatory certifications, reservation systems, and administrative operations must be paid whether a flight operates full or half empty.
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Because these fixed expenses cannot be scaled down for brief trips, short domestic flights are not proportionately cheaper than long-haul international journeys.
Limited Market Scale and Uneven Demand
Ghana’s domestic aviation sector operates on a modest scale with thin passenger volume. He cites that in 2025, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) recorded 903,227 domestic passenger movements, with traffic concentrated heavily in three main destinations: Kumasi (54 percent), Tamale (24 percent), and Takoradi (15 percent).
Because demand fluctuates across routes, maintaining high passenger loads is difficult. For example, if a 50-seat domestic flight costs GH¢40,000 to operate, the cost per passenger is GH¢889 when 45 seats are filled, but rises sharply to GH¢1,333 per passenger if only 30 seats are sold, even before factoring in a profit margin.
Foreign Currency Exposure and Heavy Input Costs
Domestic airlines suffer from a severe currency mismatch. While passenger ticket revenue is collected in local cedis, major operational costs, such as aircraft leases, jet engine overhauls, spare parts, specialized maintenance, and insurance, are denominated in foreign currencies, primarily US dollars.
Furthermore, International Air Transport Association (IATA) data highlights that African airlines operate with high unit costs relative to international benchmarks. Consequently, any domestic currency depreciation or international fuel cost surge passes immediately into airline ticket prices.
Restricted Market Competition
Appiah Kusi Adomako further indicates that competition in Ghana’s domestic airspace is severely limited, with only two active airlines operating commercial routes. While a duopoly does not automatically imply collusion or market abuse, the absence of multiple independent rivals reduces the competitive pressure to offer discounts, innovate, or compete for price-sensitive passengers.
Global aviation evidence demonstrates that the entry of low-cost carriers and multi-operator competition leads to lower average fares.
Mandatory Government Taxes and Charges
Statutory charges and government levies add a high fixed cost to every passenger ticket. He cites that the Airport Infrastructure Development Charge, which became effective on April 1, 2026, adds GH¢100 to each one-way domestic trip, or GH¢200 for a return journey.
This is accompanied by published Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) fees for aircraft landing, parking, and lighting.
Because these charges are levied at a flat rate, they place a heavier percentage burden on short domestic routes, driving up baseline entry fares.
Geopolitical Fuel Shocks and Surcharges
Finally, external global events have added direct cost surcharges to local flights. The West Africa Regional Director of CUTS International further indicates that geopolitical disruptions, including the Russia-Ukraine and Middle East conflicts, have driven aviation fuel prices significantly higher.
To manage these volatile fuel spikes, airlines apply mandatory fuel surcharges. Currently, Africa World Airlines (AWA) charges a GH¢440 fuel surcharge on return flights, while PassionAir charges GH¢150.
For him, aside from the financials, which are not publicly available, the above are the factors that are currently driving the prices of domestic air tickets in Ghana. He believes that if the state wants to address the high prices, policies must be directed toward these areas.
