Ambanja Airport

The closure was primarily due to economic factors and the strategic consolidation of air services in the region. Key reasons include:
1. **Economic Non-viability:** The grass/laterite airstrip was expensive to maintain for the low volume of traffic it handled.
2. **Redundancy:** The development and expansion of the nearby Fascene Airport (IATA: NOS, ICAO: FMNN) on the island of Nosy Be, which has a paved runway capable of handling larger jet aircraft, made the small Ambanja airstrip obsolete. Fascene became the primary air hub for the entire Diana Region.
3. **Decline of National Carrier Services:** Air Madagascar, the national airline, significantly reduced its domestic network, cutting services to many smaller, unprofitable airfields like Ambanja.

The airport is permanently closed and abandoned. The site is no longer used for any aviation purposes. Recent satellite imagery shows that the outline of the runway is still visible but is heavily overgrown with grass and shrubs. A dirt road now cuts directly across the northern portion of the former runway. The land has been partially repurposed by the local community for small-scale agriculture and as a thoroughfare. There are no intact airport buildings or infrastructure remaining.

Ambanja Airport (former ICAO: FMNJ; the code MG-0023 is a non-standard database identifier) was a vital local airstrip for the Sambirano river valley, the center of Madagascar's cocoa, vanilla, and ylang-ylang production. When active, it served as a critical link for connecting this economically important but relatively isolated region to the capital, Antananarivo, and other parts of the country. Operations were limited to light, STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) aircraft, such as the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, operated by Air Madagascar and private charters. The airport handled regional passenger flights, mail delivery, transport of medical supplies, and medical evacuation (medevac) services.

There are no known or credible plans to reopen Ambanja Airport. All aviation investment and development for the region are focused on Fascene Airport in Nosy Be, which serves as both a domestic and international gateway. The cost to reclaim the land, rebuild and certify a runway, and construct modern facilities would be prohibitive and lacks any economic or logistical justification. The prospect for reopening is considered to be zero.