Difficult Airport
I last flew to Moroni just last week and we approached from runway 20. Winds weren't so bad that day, but on the previous time I flew there about 6 weeks ago, the winds were favouring runway 02 so we came in on the ILS. The turbulence on the approach was so severe we had to disconnect the autopilot and fly manually and the winds weren't even that strong. It was largely due to the hills sitting on the right side of the approach into runway 02 (or the left side when you are coming on on runway 20) and windshear is always a factor you have to contend with in
Moroni. The approach into runway 20 is anything but a straight in approach. There is no such thing as a 10 mile or even 5 mile straight in approach because of the hills to your left. You are doing a visual approach from right base and constantly turning to align yourself with the runway and only the last mile or so are you actually completely aligned with the runway. Because of this, my company has designated Moroni as a 'difficult airport' and we are only allowed to fly there during the day, and before we are allowed to operate there, we have to undergo special training with an instructor captain, i.e. both the captain and first officer have to go through this 'difficult airport' training. The thought of going there at night just makes me shudder.