Chileka International Airport lies in the tropics at 15.68° S, 34.97° E, on Africa/Blantyre time (UTC+2). Tropical airports contend with heat and humidity, both of which thin the air and lengthen takeoff runs, and with convective storms that build fast in the afternoon.
Chileka International Airport has 2 runways. The longest, 10/28, measures 7,628 ft by 98 ft, which puts the field in the narrowbody standard category: the A320 and 737 families are at home here; widebodies would be tight. The surface is asphalt. 1 of the 2 carry runway lighting.
Runway 10/28 is aligned roughly east/west, which is the clearest hint you get about the prevailing wind here: runways are built to face the wind that blows most often, because aircraft take off and land into it. With 2 runways across 2 different headings, crews can pick whichever best suits the wind.
The runways are not interchangeable. 15/33 is 4,501 ft against 10/28's 7,628 ft, a difference of 3,127 ft, so the shorter one generally takes regional traffic while the longer handles anything heavy.