According to the carrier, plans are afoot to cut over 50% of its staff.
This is a part of the carrier's bigger strategy to reduce its debt levels. The airline, which currently boasts three aircraft, has not made a profit in over a decade. A contributory factor has been the high cost of aircraft maintenance and to date, the government has been unsuccessful in finding a buyer for the airline.
Ground handling service is at present provided by a third party handler but Air Botswana sees savings in the formation of its own handling entity. A little over 200 staff are envisaged after the cuts but the carrier stressed that most of the laid off personnel would be re-employed by the new handling company.
