African aviation chief urges tax reform to curb youth exodus and boost jobs

Monday 20 October 2025 - 08:50

By: Dakir Madiha

African aviation chief urges tax reform to curb youth exodus and boost jobs

Africa’s aviation industry faces a crisis of over-taxation that threatens to deepen youth unemployment and migration across the continent, according to Esayas Woldemariam Hailu, CEO of ASKY Airlines. Speaking at a World Bank summit in Washington, D.C., Hailu warned that excessive levies on airline tickets and fuel are “suffocating” growth and deterring investment in one of Africa’s most critical economic sectors.

“When you buy a ticket, one-third goes to taxes,” he told the panel on Powering Job Creation in Africa, stressing that air travel in Africa costs significantly more than in other regions. Aviation fuel, for instance, is 30% more expensive than in Europe, while ticket taxes are double the European average. Hailu likened the situation to a paradox: “In Africa, aviation is taxed more heavily than alcohol or tobacco.”

The link between jobs and youth migration

Hailu connected these economic barriers directly to the surge of youth-led protests and migration movements sweeping across Africa. With unemployment surging among Generation Z, frustration has spilled into the streets from North Africa to the continent’s southernmost regions.

“When people have jobs and stable income, there is more peace and less Gen Z movement,” he explained, using the term to describe mass youth mobilization and migration attempts. “If you need peace, invest in aviation,” he declared, framing the sector as both a symbol and solution for economic inclusion.

In countries such as Morocco, youth demonstrators have repeatedly called for better job opportunities and access to healthcare — two themes that echoed throughout the summit.

A multi-sector strategy for Africa’s jobs challenge

Anna Bjerde, the World Bank’s Managing Director of Operations, emphasized a broader multi-sectoral approach to tackling Africa’s employment crisis. She identified healthcare as a crucial driver of job creation and productivity, calling it “a great source of employment and an essential investment for healthy, productive workers.”

Her vision includes five key sectors, healthcare, energy infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, and value-added manufacturing — all anchored by what she described as “three pillars”: foundational infrastructure, an enabling business environment, and private capital mobilization.

Breaking protectionist barriers

Hailu criticized African governments for failing to implement the Yamoussoukro Declaration of 1999, which was meant to liberalize air travel across the continent. “They finish their AU meeting, they go home, and forget about that,” he said, denouncing persistent protectionism that hinders cross-border growth.

He urged leaders to honor both the Yamoussoukro Declaration and the Continental Free Trade Agreement, arguing that genuine liberalization would expand markets, stimulate entrepreneurship, and attract foreign investment.

The figures underscore his point: while the global airline industry earned $1 trillion in revenue last year, profit margins remained just 3%, according to the International Air Transport Association. Meanwhile, ancillary sectors, hotels, airports, catering, enjoy far higher margins by capitalizing on aviation’s reach.

“Reduce taxes on aviation,” Hailu concluded, “and fertilize the economy so we can grow through other sectors.”

A race against demographics

Africa’s youth population is set to account for more than half of global population growth by 2050. Without bold reforms, Hailu warned, that demographic surge could become a source of instability rather than opportunity.

As governments across the continent weigh calls for tax reform and liberalization, the future of Africa’s skies, and the millions of jobs they could unlock, hangs in the balance.