Blantyre eSIM
In Blantyre you connect to Airtel Malawi or TNM, whichever is performing better where you are standing. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Airtel Malawi and TNM
- 5G
- yes, standalone
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Blantyre
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $14.89 | $14.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $10.63 | $31.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $9.78 | $48.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $8.89 | $88.89 |
How Malawi compares across Africa
- Regional median
- 29.5 Mbps
- Upstream networks
- 2, Airtel Malawi, TNM
- 5G
- Yes, in Lilongwe, Blantyre and eight other cities
- Cities with their own page
- 3: Lilongwe, Blantyre, Mzuzu
Landing at Chileka International Airport (BLZ)
- Airport
- BLZ / FWCL
- Distance
- 13 km from the centre of Blantyre
Getting into Blantyre
- Road southeast from Chileka into Blantyre, about 13 km (BLZ)
- Minibuses from the city centre and Wenela bus station
Worth knowing about Blantyre
- The airport was renamed Bakili Muluzi International Airport in August 2025, so tickets, signage and directions may use either that or the older Chileka name for the same place.
- The airport is about 13 km by road northwest of Blantyre and has two asphalt runways. The main one, 10/28, was closed for resurfacing from April 2019, work that overran a three month plan and finished in December 2019, with both runways back in normal use on 1 January 2020.
- Scheduled service is regional only: Airlink to Johannesburg, Ethiopian Airlines to Addis Ababa, and Malawi Airlines to Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg and Lilongwe.
- Blantyre has a station on the Sena railway, but the stretch from Blantyre to Nhamayabue in Mozambique has been out of use since 1997 after civil war damage and flooding. Rehabilitation started in 2021 with a pledge to finish in February 2026.
- Coaches link Blantyre to Lilongwe, Mzuzu and further afield to Johannesburg and Harare, and local minibuses run from the city centre and Wenela bus station.