Arusha — Air passengers in East Africa will each be charged $0.7 to support the Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (Cassoa), if the proposal is approved by the ministers of Finance of each country in the block.

Officials close to the East African Community secretariat yesterday said the fee has been proposed to strengthen the organisation, whose activities are expected to include those of the civil aviation authorities of the bloc's five member countries.

The fee will be charged on every embarking passenger by the respective CAA in each country on behalf of the agency, which was established by the East African Community in 2007 to oversee the development of effective civil aviation safety and security oversight in the region.

The measure is intended to raise the budget of the institution, whose current financing strategy that includes contributions from the partner states, is seen as unsustainable.

The member states -- Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Burundi and Rwanda -- have up to March next year to decide on the proposed charge, which is likely to marginally raise air travel costs in the region at a time when it is seeking to attract more tourists while competing with cheaper destinations.

However, the ministers of Finance from the five countries agree that everything should be done to support the two-year-old EAC institution, the first regional civil aviation safety oversight in Africa, whose creation has been hailed by the aviation fraternity world over.

The agency, temporarily hosted at the East African Community headquarters in Arusha, will soon be relocating its permanent head office to Uganda and its establishment makes the community the only region in Africa to have harmonised civil aviation regulations.