Botswana's state-owned national flag carrier, Air Botswana Corporation, has discontinued the Gaborone-Windhoek connection as operational challenges mount.

Challenges affecting the airline range from financial losses to human resource shortages, with the development expected to reshape travel patterns across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

Air Botswana's Chief Executive Officer, Bao Mosinyi, made these revelations when he appeared before the parliamentary public accounts committee in Gaborone.

Mosinyi said the airliner has so far accumulated financial losses of approximately N$51.9 million during the 2025/2026 financial year, rendering the Gaborone-Windhoek route economically unviable.

"Until we get the pilots to fly the jets, we will have such challenges. It becomes a game where, almost on a daily basis, you need to find out who can fly which route and how many people you would have in there. The routes that were cancelled are routes like Durban and include routes like Windhoek. Route development is an expensive exercise. But if you start it in a situation like ours at Air Botswana, where operationally we are quite inefficient in all honesty, we are bound to fail."

He added that the suspension significantly reduces direct flight options between Botswana and Namibia, as well as key regional destinations that feature prominently in tourism itineraries.

The Gaborone-Windhoek route was introduced in late 2024 as part of an ambitious expansion strategy designed to strengthen regional connectivity and generate much-needed revenue for the financially troubled airline.