CAAB in talks with four major airlines
KASANE: The Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana (CAAB) is in negotiations with four major airlines intending to secure their entry into the country and thus revive the local aviation sector.
Speaking at the Hospitality and Tourism Association of Botswana (HATAB) conference, CAAB CEO, Bao Mosinyi identified the four airlines as Qatar Airways, Emirates Airways, Rwanda Air, and Arkia Airlines.
While Botswana has 11 Bilateral Air Services Agreements in place with other countries, just four airlines currently operate in the country besides the national carrier. The CAAB is hoping successful negotiations with the four major airlines will help revive a sector hard hit by COVID-19, which dropped passenger numbers by 88%.
A presentation shared by the CEO indicates that
Qatar Airways would operate between Gaborone and Windhoek, while Emirates would fly between Gaborone and Maputo. Rwanda Air would operate between Gaborone and Kigali, while Arkia Airlines would fly Kasane–Kilimanjaro-Tel Aviv.
Successfully negotiating the entry of the new airlines would also boost CAAB’s coffers, as the parastatal has in recent times suffered a sharp drop in revenues. In December 2020, the CAAB narrowly escaped closing down and thus shutting the country’s airspace after it ran out of funds. Government stepped in to bail out the parastatal, but Mosinyi told HATAB conference delegates that the organisation was still struggling.
“For lack of a better term, we’re broke,” he said. “We have airports like Kasane International Airport losing P24 million annually.
“As a regulatory body, we have limited income streams and we generate most of our money from air traffic over the country.
“We’ve worked diligently to find ways to maximise air traffic over this country to build our revenues.” CAAB is hoping to expand its revenue streams beyond commercial flight through the development of strategic landing strips for tourism, VVIP landings, humanitarian aid and more.
“We have 26 strategic landing strips in the country that are being underutilised and are draining millions in maintenance,” the CEO said.
“We have even had to temporarily close down some in an attempt to cut costs but now they’re fully operational and ready to generate revenue with specialised flights.”
The parastatal also expects to receive a major boost from the development of the Sir Seretse Khama International Airport Special Economic Zone, which will feature activities such as diamond beneficiation, aerospace and aviation, cargo, agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, and engineering and specialist automotive services.