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Malawi cables can confirm that President Arthur Peter Mutharika has landed in South Africa today, Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at Lanseria International Airport north-west of Johannesburg at approximately 4:35 p.m.
The President travelled aboard a VistaJet Bombardier Global 6000 registration 9H-VJW which had earlier today departed Cape Town at 9:50 a.m..
The plane landed at Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe at 1:25 p.m. to collect him, and then departed Lilongwe at 2:37 p.m. for Johannesburg.
Total flight time for both sectors is five hours and 35 minutes.
The aircraft is part of VistaJet’s long-range charter fleet which on the open market charters from about US$11,000 to US$11,400 per hour, meaning today’s five and a half hours is estimated at US$61,400 to US$63,800, approximately K106.5 million to K110.6 million at current rates.
Lanseria is Johannesburg’s second international airport after OR Tambo, located about 40 kilometres north-west of central Johannesburg near Sandton, Fourways and Randburg and is widely used for private and VIP flights. It was opened in 1974 and is historically known as the airport that received Nelson Mandela after his release in 1990.
Chief Secretary to the Government Justin Saidi has confirmed the departure describing it as a private visit without disclosing purpose or duration, marking President Mutharika’s fifth private trip to South Africa.
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