Malawian Airlines Limited is the flag carrier airline of Malawi, based in Lilongwe and with its hub at Lilongwe International Airport. It was established in 2012 after the liquidation of Air Malawi, the former national airline. Ethiopian Airlines operates it under a management contract and owns 49% of the airline after it emerged as the winner following competitive bidding.

The airline was formed in July 2013 (2013-07), following the collapse of Air Malawi, the hitherto national carrier, in February 2013, as a result of inability to pay its debts. A deal with Ethiopian Airlines, that would see this carrier having a 49% shareholding in Air Malawi, was finalised in July 2013 (2013-07); the agreement also contemplated the renaming of Air Malawi to Malawian Airlines Ltd.

Operations commenced on 31 January 2014 (2014-01-31) serving the Blantyre–Lilongwe domestic route using 67-seater Bombardier Q400 aircraft. Malawian launched its first international service to Harare on 3 February 2014 (2014-02-03).Johannesburg was added to the route network two weeks later, on 17 February, and Dar es Salaam was incorporated on 18 February.

The shareholders of the airline are the Government of Malawi (51%) and Ethiopian Airlines (49%). The government planned to offload 31% of its stake to private investors after a minimum period of 12 months after operations commence and it expected to earn US$6 million from this sale. In March 2016 Jimmy Lipunga, CEO of The Public Private Partnership Commission (PPPC), said that plans by the Malawi government to sell some shares in the airline to members of the public would depend on the airline attaining profitability.

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Wikipedia