Statistics Botswana has reported a 19.8% decline in air passenger traffic during the first quarter of 2026, with the country’s airports handling 189,845 passenger movements compared with 236,827 in the final quarter of 2025. Aircraft movements also declined during the reporting period, although both passenger and aircraft activity remained above the levels recorded in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
According to the country’s Transport and Infrastructure Statistics, Quarter 1, 2026, international passenger movements totalled 119,371, accounting for 62.9% of all passenger traffic. Domestic passenger movements reached 70,474, representing the remaining 37.1%.
Compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, international passenger traffic declined by 20.9%, while domestic traffic decreased by 17.9%.
Despite the quarterly decline, total passenger movements were approximately 12.4% higher than the 168,933 recorded in the first quarter of 2025.
Scheduled services accounted for 151,232 passenger movements, representing 79.7% of the quarterly total, while non-scheduled services carried 35,457 passengers, or 18.7%. Private and scenic flights collectively accounted for the remaining 1.7%.
Passenger traffic declined across all flight categories except private flights, which recorded an increase of 38.1% compared with the preceding quarter. Scenic flight passengers decreased by 53.6%, while non-scheduled and scheduled passenger movements fell by 25.7% and 18.1%, respectively.
Sir Seretse Khama International Airport in Gaborone handled the largest share of passenger traffic, recording 102,432 movements, equivalent to 54% of the national total. Maun Airport followed with 66,811 passengers, representing 35.2%, while Kasane Airport handled 17,798 passengers, or 9.4%.
Passenger traffic at the country’s main airports declined compared with the preceding quarter. Phillip Matante International Airport recorded the largest percentage decrease, at 30.8%, followed by Kasane at 27.7%, Maun at 21.7% and Sir Seretse Khama International Airport at 16.6%.
The distribution of passenger traffic across flight categories also differed between airports. Scheduled services accounted for 97.6% of passengers at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, compared with 55.3% at Maun and 67.3% at Kasane.
Maun accounted for 79.7% of the country’s non-scheduled passenger movements and 93.8% of scenic flight passengers during the quarter.
Aircraft movements across Botswana’s airports totalled 14,667, a 22.7% decrease from the 18,966 movements recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025. Domestic movements accounted for 11,260, or 76.8%, while international movements totalled 3,407, representing 23.2%.
Non-scheduled operations dominated aircraft activity, accounting for 10,265 movements, or 70% of the national total. Scheduled services accounted for 3,456 movements, representing 23.6%, with private and scenic flights making up the balance.
Maun remained Botswana’s busiest airport in terms of aircraft movements, recording 9,984 movements during the quarter, equivalent to 68.1% of the national total. Sir Seretse Khama International Airport followed with 2,884 movements, or 19.7%, while Kasane recorded 1,609 movements, representing 11%.
The figures reflect the different operating profiles of Botswana’s main airports, with Sir Seretse Khama International Airport handling the largest passenger volume while Maun accounted for more than two-thirds of recorded aircraft movements.
Although aircraft activity declined compared with the previous quarter, the total of 14,667 movements represented an increase of approximately 6.7% against the 13,745 movements recorded in the first quarter of 2025.
The first-quarter figures indicate that Botswana’s aviation sector recorded lower traffic volumes than in the final quarter of 2025, but both passenger and aircraft movements remained higher on a year-on-year basis.
Source: Statistics Botswana, Transport and Infrastructure Statistics, Quarter 1, 2026, published August 2026.
Download: Statistics Botswana, Transport and Infrastructure Statistics, Quarter 1, 2026 (PDF)
