LA PAZ, EL SALVADOR - FEBRUARY 18: A man and his son watch a United Airlines plane take off from Comalapa International Airport on February 18, 2023 in La Paz, El Salvador. According to the Autonomous Executive Port Commission (CEPA), in 2022 more than 3.5 million visitors and passengers circulated through Comalapa International Airport, one of the most important and modern terminals in the Central American region, where 14 commercial and 6 cargo airlines operate. (Photo by APHOTOGRAFIA/Getty Images) People traveling on passports from India or any one of more than 50 African nations will be obliged to pay the fee, El Salvador’s port authority said in a statement on its website dated Oct. 20.
The money raised will be used to improve the nation’s main international airport, the authority added.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele this week met Brian Nichols, US assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, to discuss “efforts to address irregular migration,” among other topics. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol encountered a record 3.2 million migrants across the country in fiscal year 2023, which ended in September.
Many migrants from Africa and elsewhere make it to the US via Central America.
Including VAT, the additional cost is $1,130 from travelers from the affected countries. The new fee took effect Oct. 23 and was imposed due to increased use of the country’s main international airport, according to the statement.
Airlines will be required to notify Salvadoran authorities daily of passengers who come from a list of 57 countries in Africa, and India.
Colombian airline Avianca, which is one of the hub’s biggest users, began notifying travelers that passengers from the list of countries must pay the mandatory fee before boarding flights to El Salvador.