Malawi · elevation 2555 ft AMSL
· -15.6772, 34.9723
Chileka International Airport (Blantyre) is an airport with the ICAO code FWCL and the IATA code BLZ. Country: Malawi. Nearest settlement listed in the database: Blantyre. OurAirports classifies it as a large airport. Its ICAO code starts with the FW prefix, which marks airports in Malawi. The four-letter code FWCL is used in flight operations and weather reports, while the three-letter IATA code BLZ is used for ticketing and baggage handling. The airport reference point sits at 15°40'38"S, 34°58'20"E, at an elevation of 2,555 ft (779 m) above sea level. The applicable time zone is Africa/Blantyre.
Aerial imagery showing the runway and apron layout - the zoom is matched to the longest runway.
| Threshold | Course | Length | Width | Surface |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 100° | 2,325 m (7,628 ft) | 30 m (98 ft) | asphalt |
| 28 | 280° | |||
| 15 | 150° | 1,372 m (4,501 ft) | 30 m (98 ft) | asphalt |
| 33 | 330° |
The course is derived from the runway designator (number × 10), not from a survey - the actual magnetic bearing can differ by a few degrees.
Declared distances (TORA, TODA, ASDA, LDA) are published in the national AIP - they are not part of this table.
According to OurAirports data (compiled from AIP and FAA sources), Chileka International Airport (Blantyre) has 2 runways: 10/28 - 2,325 m long (7,628 ft), 30 m wide, asphalt surface; 15/33 - 1,372 m long (4,501 ft), 30 m wide, asphalt surface.
The longest of them is 10/28, at 2,325 m.
The thresholds are oriented as follows: 10/28 on 100° and 280° magnetic, 15/33 on 150° and 330° magnetic. A threshold designator is its magnetic heading divided by ten (ICAO Annex 14), so the runway axis can be read straight off the numbers.
For the 10/28 axis, wind from the south (around 190°) or from the north (around 10°) blows perpendicular to the runway and produces the largest crosswind component. Wind from around 100° or 280° acts along the runway, as a headwind or a tailwind. The decoder on this page computes those components automatically from the current METAR.
Weather reports for Chileka International Airport (Blantyre) are published under the ICAO code FWCL. A METAR is an observation of current conditions, usually issued every 30 or 60 minutes; a TAF is a forecast for the airport area, typically covering 9 to 30 hours.
The decoder breaks the FWCL report down into its parts: wind direction and speed including gusts and variability, visibility (including CAVOK and directional minimum visibility), weather phenomena by WMO code, cloud layers with their bases, temperature and dew point, QNH pressure, and the resulting flight category - VFR, MVFR, IFR or LIFR - using FAA thresholds.
Not every airport issues its own reports; many smaller airfields have no weather station. If no current data is available for FWCL, check the nearby airports listed below.
Reports always use UTC (the Z suffix). The Africa/Blantyre zone stays at GMT+02:00 year-round, so converting to local time is always the same shift.
The closest airports in the database, measured in a straight line from the reference point, are Zomba Airport (FWZA, 55 km), Nchalo Sucoma Airport (FWSU, 67 km), Ngabu Airport (FWNB, 92 km). When no report is available for FWCL, they usually give the best approximation of conditions in the area.
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Check VFR MapThe METAR archive for FWCL goes back to 01/01/1949. Pick a date and see every observation from that day.
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