Bechuanaland National Airways was the national airline of the Bechuanaland Protectorate and was based in Francistown.

History

The airline was formed on 1 October 1965 by

Johnny Gibson John A. Gibson (July 3, 1905 – December 29, 2006) was a runner and Olympic athlete. Gibson was born in New York City in 1905, but lived most of his life in Bloomfield, New Jersey, where he attended Bloomfield High School. He was the head ...

with a government grant, and took over the route network of privately-owned Bechuanaland Safaris. Assistance from British airline Autair International Airways was given, seeing Autair providing Bechuanaland National Airways with its first two aircraft,

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

s. The airline was also technically supported by Air Trans Africa. Operations of the airline commenced on 15 November 1965, and the airline immediately began the development of a large domestic air network from Francistown to seven cities. Internationally, the airline operated on routes linking Francistown to Bulawayo in

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

and

Livingstone Livingstone may refer to: * Livingstone (name), a Scottish surname and a given name. **David Livingstone (1813–1873), Scottish physician, missionary and explorer, after whom many other Livingstones are named Places *Livingstone Falls, on the Con ...

in Zambia, and Lobatse to Johannesburg. The airline's route network saw it flying Bulawayo–Francistown–

Serowe Serowe (population approximately 60,000) is an urban village in Botswana's Central District. A trade and commercial centre, it is Botswana's third largest village. Serowe has played an important role in Botswana's history, as capital for the Bama ...

– Gaborone–Johannesburg–Gaborone–Lobatse–

Ghanzi Ghanzi is a town in the middle of the Kalahari Desert the western part of the Republic of Botswana in southern Africa. The region is the country's pride in contributing a large portion towards the beef industry. In fact, Ghanzi farmers provides ...

on Mondays; Ghanzi–Lobatse–Gaborone–Serowe–Francistown on Tuesdays; Francistown– Maun–Serondellas–Livingstone–Serondellas–Maun–Francistown on Wednesdays; Francistown–Maun–Ghanzi–Maun–Francistown on Thursdays; Francistown–Serowe–Gaborone–Lobatse–Johannesburg–Lobatse–Gaborone–Serowe–Francistown on Fridays; and Francistown to Bulawayo on Saturdays. Francistown–Johannesburg and Francistown–Johannesburg–Francistown flights were commenced in early 1966 on Mondays and Fridays respectively. The airline ceased operations late in 1966 and entered receivership. Operations of Bechuanaland National Airways were taken over by

Botswana National Airways Botswana National Airways was an airline based in Gaborone, Botswana. The airline took over services from Bechuanaland National Airways which ceased operations in late 1966. The airline was formed by Johnny Gibson under the leadership of D. Morga ...

at the end of 1966, which Gibson was also involved in setting up.

References

{{Authority control Defunct airlines of Botswana Airlines established in 1965 Airlines disestablished in 1966 Airlines by former country Bechuanaland Protectorate 1965 establishments in Bechuanaland Protectorate 1960s disestablishments in Botswana