Security may be compromised at Bakili Muluzi International Airport because of a huge fenceless section that has been neglected for years.
The ‘open field’ has led to communities encroaching the airport land, formerly Chileka, with a church built inside its perimeter.
The bushy area of the airport’s non-aeronautical zone is grazing land for livestock while dogs use it as hunting ground.
Another section of the airport’s bushy area is used as a waste disposal site by communities, creating an unsanitary environment within the perimeters of the ‘international airport’.
When we visited the airport’s during the week, we observed how some community members have turned one of the sections as a shortcut connecting another end of the community.
Freely, they walked past a rusty vandalised razor wire with no security personnel seen nearby.
We walked into the perimeter of the airport for a distance without being stopped by any airport official.
We would have gotten closer to the runway, but a community member warned us not to go any further because the section where we were has snakes.
But from a short distance, we could see a Malawi Airlines aircraft steadilly parked on the runway.
“The snakes make it risky. Other than that, we don’t get chased by any airport official,” said one community member Thomas Mkwate.
“The church structure on the other side used to be active some years back. However, they were chased. But that was many years ago and since then, it has never been demolished.”
Another community member who opted for anonymity said community members use part of the airport’s perimeter as a dumpsite because they have nowhere to dispose garbage.
Another community member Efrida Gomani said the use of a section of the airport as a shortcut is normal to them and not trespassing.
Bakili Muluzi International Airport, just like all other airports, is managed by Airport Developments Limited (ADL), which is an agency under the Ministry of Transport and Public Works.
In December 2018, dogs invaded the runway, forcing a Malawian Airlines aircraft Boeing 737-700 to abort take-off after the pilot sighted the animals on the final lap.
The aircraft was delayed for 45 minutes as emergency services cleared the dogs which had trespassed through a fenceless section of the airport.
Following the incident, the Ministry of Transport and Public Works said the airport’s ongoing rehabilitation at the time did not entail the fence.
The ministry’s then spokesperson James Chakwera, said: “The fence is supposed to be included in a different project under the European Investment Bank funded project. Hopefully, by early 2019, it should roll out.”
However, we could not independently verify during the previous week whether the project took off and if it achieved its intended purpose.
Then on January 19 2019, South African Airways shut down its operations in Blantyre after Bakili Muluzi International Airport fell short of international standards, in particular, with the lack of a perimeter fence.
According to International Aviation Civil Organisation standards, regardless of the size of an airport, a secured perimeter fence is a must-have.
A secure fence is among the parameters used in classifying an airport as meeting the required standards to operate.
This means without the fence, the airport falls short and remains in breach of the standards set by the International Aviation Civil Organisation.
When asked about the status of the airport, ADL public relations officer Wezzie Gondwe on Friday said she would get back to us.
But as of press time yesterday, she was yet to revert.
Reacting to the situation on Friday, security expert Sheriff Kaisi said the airport poses a security risk, stressing that the situation needs to be managed effectively.
He said: “The management of the airport needs to look into the matter to ensure the airport is well protected by providing a fence.”
Kaisi said the neglect might result in a serious accident involving an aircraft, citing the 2018 dog scenario.
Nation on Sunday reached out to Ministry of Transport and Public Works spokesperson Watson Maingo, who yesterday said the ministry is aware of the situation.
But Maingo referred us back to ADL, saying the agency is better placed to comment considering that it manages the airport alongside others.
He said: “The mandate to operate and manage all national aerodromes is under our agency, ADL which can best answer your questions.”
Parliament’s Transport and Public Infrastructure Committee chairperson Dumisani Lindani on Friday said he would revert when approached for comment.
Information published on ADL’s website does not state the size of Bakili Muluzi International Airport, but only shows its elevation is 2 555 feet meters above sea level.
The airport has two runways with varying measurements.
The main runway measures 2 325 meters long and 30 meters wide.
The shorter runway on the other hand measures 1 372 meters long and 30 meters wide.
The airport was renamed from Chileka International Airport to Bakili Muluzi International Airport by former president Lazarus Chakwera on August 9 2025.
The renaming of the airport was an honour conferred on Muluzi—Malawi’s first democratically elected president after the country held its first multiparty elections in May 1994.
