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 jointly managed account. The balance is shared each month, with 75 percent, or US$15, to Securiport and 25 percent, or US$5, to the GCAA ⁸.

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. Securiport replied that the accrued share was transferred when the joint account became active and the funds had remained available ⁸.

GCAA said joint GTBank accounts were operating by June 2022, all deposits were paid into them and the earlier 25 percent share had been paid. It said three officials had been assigned to monitor collections and reconcile the account. The auditor said direct collection still lacked government participation when the report was completed ⁸.

How collection oversight changed

• The contract expected collection through airline tickets. An IATA code was not obtained, so Securiport staff collected the fee at the terminal. Securiport and GCAA said the government approved physical collection ⁸.
• GCAA said joint GTBank accounts were active by June 2022 and the earlier government share had been paid ⁸.
• GCAA said three officials were assigned to monitor collections and reconcile the account ⁸.
• The audit kept the direct-collection point open since government did not participate directly in collection at the time reviewed ⁸.
• The Office of the President later asked the Ministry of Justice to lead a joint review of the contract and consider including the fee in tickets ⁸.

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 ⁷. 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.