# Chileka International Airport (BLZ)

> Blantyre, MW · IATA: BLZ · ICAO: FWCL · Medium Airport · Cargo Hub

## Quick Facts

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| IATA | `BLZ` |
| ICAO | `FWCL` |
| City | Blantyre |
| Country | MW |
| Type | Medium Airport |
| Elevation | 779 m |
| Cargo | ✅ |
| GPS | -15.67910, 34.97400 |

## Description

Blantyre's international airport has carried a new name since 9 August 2025: officially Bakili Muluzi International Airport, though the older name Chileka remains in wide use and the codes BLZ and FWCL are unchanged. Serving the commercial capital of southern Malawi, it handles freight essentially as belly cargo on passenger flights — a dedicated cargo terminal, freighter services, verified handling agents and reliable tonnage figures are all unconfirmed. Condition is a genuine planning risk: Malawian media report deteriorating facilities, a planned runway extension is stalled by land and funding constraints, and a runway rehabilitation announced by government in 2024 has no confirmed implementation status. A JICA capacity-development project for airport maintenance runs from 2023 to 2026 and included equipment renewal in 2025. Because Malawi is landlocked, heavy or price-sensitive cargo normally moves overland through the Mozambican corridors to the ports of Beira and Nacala rather than by air, with transit times depending heavily on road conditions. For air freight, Lilongwe's Kamuzu International (LLW) in the north and Beira (BEW) in Mozambique are the practical alternatives.

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*Freight Academy — Airport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/chileka-international-airport-blz](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/chileka-international-airport-blz)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/chileka-international-airport-blz](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/airports/en/chileka-international-airport-blz)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/airports/chileka-international-airport-blz/llm-summary*