Blantyre's Chileka International Airport will be closing its main 10/28 runway for three months starting April 24, a Ministry of Transport and Public Works spokesperson has confirmed to Malawi's Times Media Group.

While the longer of the airport's two runways (7628 ft / 2325 m long) is being rehabilitated, its shorter runway 15/33 (4501 ft / 1372 m) will remain open for regional traffic. According to the ministry, larger aircraft will be diverted to the capital Lilongwe.

Earlier this year, South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) already temporarily cancelled some flights to Blantyre citing safety concerns due to the runway's condition until "the implementation of the corrective action plan following audit findings".

According to the ch-aviation schedules module, Blantyre is currently served with narrowbody and regional jet aircraft by Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa International) (from Addis Ababa), Malawi Airlines (3W, Lilongwe) (from Johannesburg and Lilongwe), Kenya Airways (KQ, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) (from Nairobi), and SAA (from Johannesburg and with its freighters also from Lusaka). None of the airlines has so far announced any contingency plans for the period of April 24 to July 24.