Departure
95%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport (FMCH) is the principal international gateway to the Comoros, situated on the coast of Grande Comore just north of the village of Hahaya and serving the capital, Moroni. A single long asphalt runway with ILS handles a modest but varied mix of regional and intercontinental airline traffic, making it a straightforward if remote destination for the visiting simulator pilot.
Prince Said Ibrahim International Airport, also known as Moroni Hahaya International Airport, is the main air gateway to the Comoros, lying just north of the village of Hahaya on the island of Grande Comore and serving the nearby capital, Moroni. It is the hub for Comores Aviation and handles international services from carriers such as Air Austral, Air Tanzania, Ethiopian Airlines, Ewa Air, Kenya Airways, Precision Air and seasonal Turkish Airlines flights. For a sim pilot, its long single runway, coastal approach over the Indian Ocean, and status as the country's only significant international airport make it a distinctive and useful case study in island flying.
The airport sits on the northwestern coast of Grande Comore, immediately north of the village of Hahaya, and serves Moroni, the Comorian capital, which lies a short distance to the south. It is the only major international aerodrome in the Comoros archipelago, with approaches typically made over open water on the western side of the island.
The airport has a single physical runway, 02/20, measuring 9,529 feet and surfaced in hard asphalt. Both directions are lit, and runway 02 is equipped with an ILS approach.
Air traffic services are provided on TWR at 118.1 MHz, with an approach frequency of 119.7 MHz. An air-ground voice frequency of 465.7 MHz is also listed. Runway 02 is equipped with an ILS for instrument approaches.
The airport lies on the coast just north of Hahaya village, with Moroni and the wider urban area of the capital visible to the south, providing a useful landmark when approaching from over the sea.
The airport is named after Prince Saïd Ibrahim. It has been the site of two serious accidents: on 23 November 1996, hijacked Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 ran out of fuel and crash-landed in the sea near the airport after its pilots were prevented from landing there, killing 125 of the 175 on board. On 30 June 2009, Yemenia Flight 626 crashed into the Indian Ocean on final approach to the airport, with only one survivor among the 153 on board. A further incident occurred on 27 November 2012, when an Int'Air Îles Embraer EMB 120ER Brasilia lost height shortly after departing Moroni for Anjouan and ditched about 5 km north of the airport; all on board were rescued by local fishermen with only minor injuries.
The airport continues to operate as an international airport serving Moroni, with scheduled services from several regional and long-haul carriers including Air Austral, Air Tanzania, Ethiopian Airlines, Ewa Air, Kenya Airways, Precision Air and seasonal Turkish Airlines flights, and it serves as the hub for Comores Aviation.
