El Alto International Airport lies in the tropics at 16.51° S, 68.19° W, on America/La_Paz time (UTC-4). 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.
El Alto International Airport has 2 runways. The longest, 10/28, measures 13,123 ft by 151 ft, which puts the field in the full-length intercontinental category: a fully loaded Boeing 777 or Airbus A350 can depart for the far side of the world. Surfaces vary across the field (concrete, graded earth). 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. 10L/28R is 6,725 ft against 10/28's 13,123 ft, a difference of 6,398 ft, so the shorter one generally takes regional traffic while the longer handles anything heavy.
At 13,355 ft above sea level this is a genuinely high-altitude airport. Thin air means less lift and less engine thrust, so aircraft need noticeably more runway, and on a hot day operators may have to leave passengers, cargo or fuel behind to get airborne safely.