Air Botswana

Air Botswana is Botswana's national carrier and the most direct way to fly between South Africa and Botswana on most lanes. The fleet is small — Embraer regional jets and ATR turboprops — but covers the routes that matter for the Okavango Delta, Chobe, and Botswana business travel: Gaborone, Maun, Kasane, Francistown, plus the Johannesburg and Cape Town links. For safari travellers, Air Botswana's Maun and Kasane services are the practical first leg of an Okavango or Chobe trip; the alternative is a long road transfer from Gaborone or a charter flight at significantly higher cost.

Booking is done through the Air Botswana website, Travelstart, or a Botswana-specialist agency. The airline does not always appear in metasearch results for South African origin queries, so direct-airline checking matters. Botswana does not require a visa for South African passport holders for stays of up to ninety days, but border officials check for proof of accommodation and a return ticket, and travellers with children under eighteen must carry unabridged birth certificates. Online check-in is functional but the airports are small enough that arriving an hour before departure is generally sufficient for domestic Botswana sectors.