1. GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1 This revised policy replaces the October 2009 Air Botswana Refund Policy and shall take effect on 1st October 2018. 

1.2 A refund of an air ticket involves the cancellation of a booking, which can occur due to: 

• A passenger being a no-show 
• A flight being cancelled or delayed 
• Unforeseen circumstances preventing a passenger from traveling 

Refunds can only be processed by the airline that issued the original ticket. Only the original issuing airline can refund a ticket, as the value of the document is often unrecognizable or illegible due to coupon information that includes high provision payments. The issuing airline is typically the only one able to determine the actual value of these documents. 

1.3 Any ticket or unused portion thereof will be refunded in accordance with the applicable fare rules or tariffs. 

1.4 A refund means the repayment to the purchaser of all or a portion of a fare, rate, or charge for unused carriage of service. Refunds will only be paid back in the original form of payment as follows: 

• Cash/Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT): A cheque or EFT will be issued to the sponsor. 
• Cheque: Verify that the cheque has been cleared with the bank before processing a refund. 
• Credit Card: Payment shall be made only to the credit card holder. Tickets paid for by credit card should not be refunded in cash, cheque, or EFT unless the passenger can prove that the card account has been closed. 
• Credit Note: Issued where an invoice was created. 
• Tickets Issued by an Agent: Refunds shall be processed through the relevant Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP). 
• Tickets Issued by an Air Botswana Office: Refunds shall be processed by Air Botswana Head Office. 
• Tickets Issued by an Air Botswana GSA (General Sales Agent): Refunds shall be processed by the relevant GSA. 

1.5 An airline may effect the refund directly to the passenger or purchaser even when a travel agent has issued the ticket. The commission should be claimed back from the agent via an Agent Debit Memo (ADM).

2. Types of Refunds:

2.1. Involuntary Refund 

2.1.1 An involuntary refund is the refund of an unused ticket or portion thereof, or an unused Miscellaneous Charges Order (MCO) or an Electronic Multipurpose Document (EMD), where carriage is refused due to reasons including but not limited to:

• Flight cancellation 
• Flight schedule change 
• Over or under carriage 
• Offloading 
• Misconnection due to the airline's fault 
• Safety or legal reasons 
• Condition or conduct of the passenger 

2.1.2 Notwithstanding the above, the Conditions of Contract, Article 9 of the Warsaw Convention signed on 12 October 1929 shall apply: "Carrier undertakes to use its best efforts to carry the passenger and baggage with reasonable dispatch. Times shown in timetable or elsewhere are not guaranteed and form no part of this contract. Carrier may without notice substitute alternate carriers or aircraft, and may alter or omit stopping places shown on the ticket in case of necessity. Schedules are subject to change without notice. Carrier assumes no responsibility for making connections." 

2.1.3 If no portion of the ticket has been used, an amount equivalent to the fare paid will be refunded with no charges or administration fees deducted. 

2.1.4 If a portion of the ticket has been used, the prorated value of the unused portion will be refunded. The refund will not be less than the difference between the fare paid and the applicable fare for travel between the points for which the ticket has been used. 

2.2. Voluntary Refunds 

2.2.1 If a passenger is entitled to a refund of an unused ticket for reasons other than those set out in 2.1, voluntary refunds will be computed as follows: 

If no portion of the ticket has been used, the refund will be the full amount of the fare paid, less any applicable service charge or cancellation fees in accordance with the fare rules or tariffs. If a portion of the ticket has been used, refunds will be assessed as follows: 

a) The amount to be refunded will be equal to the difference between the fare paid and the applicable one-way fare for travel between the points for which the ticket has been used, less any service charges or cancellation fees. 

b) The amount to be refunded will be assessed in the currency of the country of commencement of transportation. 

c) The fare for the travel undertaken will be assessed using the fare(s) applicable at the time of commencement of transportation and the IATA rate of exchange applicable at the time of the original transaction. 

d) When the original payment has been made in a currency other than the currency of the country of commencement of transportation, refunds in the same currency as originally tendered will be made at the exchange rate used for the original payment. 

2.3. Refund in Cases of Death 

2.3.1 When a passenger dies or is prevented from initiating, continuing, or terminating travel due to the death of an immediate family member, according to the Passenger Air Tariffs General Rules 9.3.4.1 (spouse, children including adopted children, parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandchildren, in-laws), proof of relation will be required. 

2.3.2 In the case of death before the commencement of travel, a full refund of the fare shall be paid.

 2.3.3 In the case of death after the commencement of travel, the prorated value of the unused portion of the ticket will be refunded or the standard refund procedures as stated in 2.1 or 2.2 will apply. 

2.3.4 A death certificate shall be required as proof of death. The death certificate must be executed by competent authorities designated to issue death certificates according to the applicable laws of the country where the death occurred. The death certificate or copy thereof shall remain on file for a period of not less than two (2) years.

2.4. Lost Tickets (Form of Indemnity) 

2.4.1 Air Botswana offices will only replace lost documents (e.g., MCOs, Excess Baggage Tickets) if the issuing carrier of the lost document is BP – 636, irrespective of whether the document is good for carriage or honoring by another designated airline. 

2.4.2 Lost documents will be replaced by Air Botswana offices or their appointed General Sales Agent (GSA) only. Travel agents should refer passengers claiming for replacement of a lost document to an Air Botswana office. 

2.4.3 Requirements for applying for replacement of a lost document: 

a) Application must be made on a Form of Indemnity as prescribed by Air Botswana. 

b) A police report is mandatory and shall be attached to the Form of Indemnity. The applicant should have made an oath before the Commissioner of Oaths (at the Police Station) for the application to be processed. 

c) A service charge of BWP400.00 plus VAT or equivalent will be charged per passenger for handling a request for a lost document.

d) Applications for replacement of a lost document shall only be made through the respective selling office. Under no circumstances will such applications be considered at the airports due to insufficient time to conclude investigations before the commencement of travel. To continue the journey, passengers shall be requested to pay for new transportation documents. 

e) Applications for refunds for lost tickets/traffic documents may be made to Air Botswana upon receipt of the completed Form of Indemnity and police report. Refunds for lost documents shall be subject to the service charges specified above. 

f) Air Botswana will not refund lost tickets less than six (6) months after the date of application for a refund. Air Botswana reserves the right to reject an application for a refund if insufficient information or no satisfactory proof of loss is available. 

g) For new tickets purchased on departure, Air Botswana will reimburse the old ticket purchased less the applicable form of indemnity fee after an investigation. Air Botswana will not refund the old ticket purchased less than six (6) months after the date of the application for the refund. 

h) If Air Botswana or their authorized agents lose the ticket or a portion of it, the loss shall be the responsibility of Air Botswana. 

2.5. Tax Refund 

2.5.1 Government and/or Airport Authority Taxes (Official Taxes) These taxes are included in the price of a ticket and are levied by airport operators, governments, or other authorities. Examples of Official Taxes include: 

Botswana: BW / Departure Tax, CW / Value Added Tax – Domestic 

South Africa: EV / Passenger Safety Charge, UM / Passenger Services and Security Charge, WC / Air Passenger Tax, ZA / Passenger Service Tax, ZV / Value Added Tax 

Zimbabwe: CB / Passenger Service Charge, XI / Aviation Infrastructural Development Fund Levy Fee, ZW / Sales Tax 

Zambia: JI / Air Passenger Service Charge, QJ / Security Charge, RM / Aviation Infrastructure and Development Charge 

2.5.2 Carrier-Imposed Taxes/Fees/Charges All non-official taxes, fees, and charges imposed by carriers, including fuel and insurance surcharges (YQ/YR). 

2.5.3 Air Botswana shall refund taxes according to the table below:

BEFORE DEPARTURE

AFTER DEPARTURE

 2.6 Refusal to Refund a Ticket 

2.6.1 Air Botswana may refuse a refund on a ticket which has been presented to us or to government officials as evidence of intention to depart from the country, unless you establish to our satisfaction that you have permission to remain in the country or that you will depart from the country by another means of transport. 

2.6.2 If a ticket is used out of sequence, any remaining unused coupons are not refundable. 

Note: A refund will be refused when a refund application is made for a ticket that is no longer valid. 

2.7 Waiving of Fees/Charges 2.7.1 Air Botswana will charge an admin fee of BWP400.00 plus VAT on all refunds for domestic, regional, and international flights. No fees or charges will be waived for hospital admission letters, doctors' letters, or normal sick letters. No exceptions will be made, as passengers should be encouraged to take travel/medical insurance. 

2.8 Penalties 

2.8.1 Cancellations, no-shows, changes, and penalty charges will be in accordance with the fare rules.

3. AIR BOTSWANA REFUND PROCEDURES

3.1 Refund - Air Botswana Ticket Office Sales 

3.1.1 Upon receipt of a ticket to be refunded, Agents should complete a refund application form with proper contact and bank details. 

3.1.2 Agents should make sure that the ticket is refundable before submitting the documents to the refunds section. 

3.1.3 When receiving an E-Ticket (electronic ticket) refund request, the status should be changed to "REFUNDED" in the system and proof should be attached to the application form before being submitted to the refunds section. 

3.1.4 Refunds Section will process the unused tickets in accordance with paragraph 2.1 or 2.2 of the policy. 

3.1.5 Refunds Section will capture each ticket on their system. 

3.1.6 Refunds Section will calculate the amount to be refunded according to the fare rules plus all relevant taxes less the applicable penalties/charges/admin fees and attach all copies of relevant documentation. 

3.1.7 The completed refund with all necessary documents attached will then be forwarded to the Sales Audit Section Accountant, who will verify the coupons to be refunded in the Revenue Accounting system. 

3.1.8 Once the refund is recommended, the Sales Audit Section Accountant then forwards the documents to the Revenue Accountant for approval. 

3.1.9 Once approved, the refund will be paid back in its original form of payment. 

3.2 BSP Refunds 

3.2.1 Agents will submit their refunds directly to BSPlink. 

3.2.2 An admin fee of BWP400.00 plus VAT will be charged for all refunds submitted to BP and through BSPlink. No waiver of this fee will be authorized. 

3.2.3 The standard refund rules as stated in paragraph 2.1 or 2.2 shall be applied. 

3.2.4 Refunds submitted directly to BSPlink by the agents shall be audited and authorized by Air Botswana Sales Audit through BSPLink. 

3.2.5 Refunds Section shall calculate the amount to be refunded according to the fare rules plus all relevant taxes less the applicable penalties/charges/admin fees and attach all relevant documentation. 

3.2.6 Refunded coupons will be downloaded into the Revenue Accounting System via H.O.T’s (Hand off tapes). 

3.3 GSA's Ticket Refunds 

3.3.1 Upon receipt of a refund request, the GSA should complete a refund application form and attach all relevant documentation.

3.3.2 GSA to ensure that the ticket is refundable according to the fare rules and that the correct penalties, admin fees, etc., have been deducted. All tickets refunded are to be reported on a separate sheet (Refund Report on TSR) in the month of the refund application. GSA will ensure that the correct commission is also deducted on this report and submitted with the normal Ticket Sales Return. 

3.3.3 For penalties, refer to the relevant fare rule and for admin fees, refer to Paragraph 2.7. 

3.4 Online Ticket Refund 

3.4.1 Refunds for all tickets sold on the internet shall be processed at Air Botswana Head Office and refund applications shall be processed via the internet link provided on the website. The refund rules detailed under paragraph 2.1 to 2.2 will also apply to refunds for tickets sold on the internet. 

3.4.2 For penalties, refer to the relevant fare rules and for admin fees, refer to Paragraph 2.7. 

4. TURN-AROUND TIME OF REFUNDS 

4.1 The maximum waiting period on all refunds will be 1 month, except for lost tickets (see section 2.4) from the date that the passenger completed the claim form at the respective Air Botswana office. Refunds received will be recorded on a daily basis, therefore it is very important to use the correct, legible date stamp or validator on receipt of a ticket to be refunded