The Banjul airport security fee

What the fee is and how to pay

Every passenger pays US$20 on arrival and US$20 on departure. Children aged 1 or under and transit passengers are exempt ¹.

The fee is paid at marked kiosks in the terminal. Visa credit cards are accepted, but the UK government warns that card machines are often out of service. Carrying cash in dollars, euros, pounds or dalasi avoids that problem ¹.

The fee goes by several names in official papers. A September 2020 GCAA letter to airlines called it the Immigration Security System Levy ⁵. The UK government calls it the Airport Security Fee ¹.

How the fee began

In September 2020 a GCAA letter told airlines and travel companies that the government was implementing the Immigration Security System Levy at Banjul International Airport with immediate effect. Each arriving and each departing passenger was to pay US$20 at booths in the terminal ⁵.

The NAO reported that collection began in September 2020 ². The contract covers civil aviation and immigration security and an e-visa system, as reported by Dubawa ⁶.

Who gets the money

Under the contract, collections go into a joint bank account held by the GCAA and Securiport. The balance is to be shared each month, with 75 percent (US$15) to Securiport and 25 percent (US$5) to the GCAA ².

The NAO found that no government share reached the GCAA account from September 2020 to April 2021. The first payment, D16,452,987.3, arrived on 20 May 2021. The NAO called this a deliberate breach of the contract ².

Audit findings and official responses

• The NAO said the contract required the government to direct airlines to collect the fee. The government did not obtain IATA approval for airlines to add it to tickets, so Securiport staff collect it in cash at the terminal ³.
• The NAO warned that cash payment causes queues and that tourists might choose cheaper destinations. It recommended a full review of the project through the Directorate of PPP ³.
• The NAO reported that Securiport relied on a contract clause to claim about D164 million from the government over the late implementation of the project ⁷.
• The NAO said the Attorney General's Chambers' legal advice was not considered before the contract was signed ⁸.
• Presidential adviser Sulayman Camara called the audit report half-baked in March 2023, saying it did not include the management's response ⁹.

Plans to move the fee into tickets

In January 2023 the GCAA announced that manual collection of Securiport charges at the airport would stop from 1 May. It listed new security charges of US$25 per departing and per arriving passenger ¹⁰. This site found no notice that these changes took effect. The UK government still listed the fee as US$20 at kiosks in July 2026 ¹.

In March 2023 a Securiport consultant said booth collection would continue until payments are included in tickets ⁶. On 15 January 2026 Information Minister Ismaila Ceesay said the government was working to include the fee in the ticket price ⁴.