[1] In the mid-1970s, the airport was enlarged to accommodate more international carriers, with the state-owned Air Djibouti providing regular trips to its various destinations.

As the airport is located south of Djibouti City and its runways run east–west, an airliner's landing approach is usually directly over the conurbation of the capital, when the wind is from the west.

Civilian air-traffic controllers hired by the Djiboutian government monitor the airspace over Camp Lemonnier's runways, unlike other major US military bases.

US federal aviation experts suggested that an unprofessional attitude on the part of the controllers potentially imperiled American military and civilian flights to and from the airport.

U.S. Navy Captain Kevin Bertelsen, the commanding officer at Camp Lemonnier, described work at the air base as challenging, but similarly indicated that conditions there had been ameliorated.