Air Botswana customers were embarrassed to arrive at Maun Airport only to find themselves in darkness after terminal lights went off due to power outages and a failed generator.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana Acting Chief Executive Officer, Patrinah Masalela, confirmed that power cuts resulted in tourists and customers arriving at the terminal building while there was no electricity at Maun Airport.
 
She said customers who boarded Air Botswana Flight BP036 from Sir Seretse Khama International Airport landed in the evening only to find there was no electricity in the terminal building.
 
Masalela indicated that this was after the standby generator, which is devoted for terminal, broke down due to maintenance fault.
 
 She said that lantern lights were used to provide lighting for customers after the generator shut down.
 Masalela added that the CAAB will treat maintenance issues with urgency to avoid the embarrassment in the future.
 
“Air Botswana Flight BP036 from Sir Seretse Khama International Airport landed at 1946hrs but the whole of the airport side was lit because there are some back-up substations that provide electricity to the runway lights, apron lights and the high masts lights. The only area that had no electricity by then was the terminal building and the whole area of the land side,” said Masalela. ??She stated that the standby generator is said to be having a problem because it is due for service. Masalela stated that┬áthe┬áemergency electric lantern lights were used to provide lighting for passengers as the generator was continuously getting on and off.??“Lantern lights are not that effective in providing light but┬áI personally suggest that we should at least have two standby generators so that if one is faulty, the other can take over and provide lighting so that, in future, our customers do not experience the embarrassment they went through. The other suggestion could be that maintenance issue should always be treated with urgency,” stated Masalela.
