Chennai Airport Expansion Delayed Until December 2026; Annual Capacity Will Rise to 35 Million Passengers

The completion of the ongoing expansion and modernisation of Chennai International Airport has been delayed to December 2026, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has informed Parliament. Once Phase II is completed, the airport’s annual passenger-handling capacity will increase from 30 million to 35 million.

Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol disclosed the revised deadline in a written reply to a Lok Sabha question from DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran. The government attributed the delay to disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, cyclones and unusually heavy rainfall.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is carrying out the two-phase modernisation programme at a total cost of ₹2,467 crore. The project was taken up to increase capacity at Chennai Airport, which earlier had the infrastructure to handle 23 million passengers annually.

Under Phase I, AAI developed a new integrated terminal building that raised the airport’s annual capacity from 23 million to 30 million passengers. The terminal became operational in 2023.

Phase II involves the construction of Terminal 3. The new terminal will have eight passenger entry gates, 60 check-in counters, 10 X-ray scanners, nine remote boarding gates and eight aerobridges. It will also include additional baggage-handling and security-screening facilities.

The Ministry said ₹1,762.08 crore had been spent on the two-phase project up to June 2026.

Chennai International Airport, one of the country’s busiest airports, recorded the highest on-time performance among India’s 10 busiest airports in May 2026, with 92.2% of domestic flights operating on time.

AAI has also spent ₹236.75 crore over the past five years on rapid-exit taxiways, taxi tracks and link taxiways at Chennai Airport.

These additions are intended to reduce runway occupancy time and improve aircraft movement between the runways and terminal aprons.

The government also said it had not identified any shortage of flight slots at Chennai Airport and that no airline request for slot allocation was pending with AAI.

AAI is also planning a satellite terminal within the airport complex for passenger and cargo operations. A public access road proposed by the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority will connect the terminal, replacing the earlier plan for a dedicated elevated corridor. The funding arrangement for the road is yet to be finalised.