Hassan Tampuli, Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Roads and Transport Committee, has criticised the introduction of the Airport Infrastructure Development Charge (AIDC), describing it as insensitive to current global economic conditions.

His comments come in the wake of rising domestic airfares following the implementation of the new levy, which took effect on April 1, 2026, as part of government efforts to fund airport infrastructure development.

Airlines, including PassionAir and Africa World Airlines, have announced fare adjustments to incorporate the AIDC. Both carriers have indicated that the GHS100 one-way charge will be passed directly onto passengers, leading to higher ticket prices on domestic routes.

The AIDC, introduced by the government through the Ministry of Transport and the Ghana Airports Company Limited, is aimed at generating dedicated funding for the modernisation and expansion of airport infrastructure across the country.

Speaking on the development on Citi Eyewitness New on Wednesday April 1, Mr. Tampuli argued that the timing of the AIDC fails to reflect prevailing global market realities, placing an additional burden on travellers.

“Introducing this AIDC now smacks of a very insensitive government that is not reflective of what is happening on the global market,” he said.

He further questioned the necessity of the new charge, noting that passengers are already paying existing fees embedded in ticket prices. According to him, the Airport Passenger Service Charge (APSC), which has been part of airfare structures since its last review in 2013, already contributes to costs borne by travellers.

“This is a levy that is completely new. It hasn’t been in the line in the price build-up of air tickets previously. But don’t forget we already have the Airport Passenger Service Charge called APSC, which has always been in the price build-up,” he explained.

Mr. Tampuli pointed out that the new GHS100 charge significantly increases the financial burden on passengers when added to existing fees, recalling that even past attempts to review the APSC faced strong resistance.

He said previous discussions around increasing the APSC—from about GHS5 to higher amounts—were approached with caution due to concerns about affordability for the travelling public.

“For us, even increasing it to GHS20 was a problem. We felt we needed to be sensitive to the Ghanaian travelling public. After several considerations, we agreed to about GHS50, and even then, we were looking for the right time to implement it,” he noted.