Aviation History
Botswana's national airline history began with two short-lived carriers in the late 1960s before Air Botswana was founded in 1972 and began flying with a single Fokker F-27. Made a parastatal under the 1988 Air Botswana Act, the carrier remains 100% government-owned despite repeated, ultimately unsuccessful privatization attempts over more than two decades, and has weathered a notorious 1999 incident and chronic financial losses.
Botswana National Airways (1966–1969) and its successor Botswana Airways Corporation (1970–1971) both failed to establish lasting national air service before Air Botswana's creation.
Air Botswana was established on 2 July 1972 and began operations that August with a single Fokker F-27.
Under the Air Botswana Act, the airline became a government parastatal corporation on 1 April 1988.
On 11 October 1999, a pilot deliberately crashed an empty ATR 42 into two other parked aircraft at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, destroying all three and leaving the airline with only one operable jet.
Negotiations to sell Air Botswana to South African regional carrier Airlink broke down over a dispute involving national livery and branding.
Air Botswana took delivery of new ATR 72-500 aircraft ordered in 2008, modernizing its regional fleet.
Air Botswana
Wikipedia, Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana, airline corporate history