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Chennai International Airport (சென்னை பன்னாட்டு விமான நிலையம்) (IATA: MAA, ICAO: VOMM) is located in Meenambakkam, 7 km (4.3 mi) south of Chennai, India. It is the third largest international gateway into the country and the third busiest airport in India after Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (Mumbai) and Indira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi),[3][4] and the main air hub for South India, handling over 10 million passengers (domestic and international combined) in 2007 and serving more than 50 different airlines. Chennai has been ranked at the 14th spot, ahead of Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport(25th spot) among "Top 25 fastest growing airports 2007" worldwide, with a 23% increase in the passenger traffic, according to the World Airport Traffic 2007 statistics released by the Airports Council International [5]. It is also an important cargo terminus for the country, after Mumbai. Chennai is also a hub airport for Jet Airways, Deccan and Air India.
History
Chennai had one of the first airports in India, and was the final destination of Air India's first flight from Bombay (Mumbai) via Belgaum in 1954. The first passenger terminal was built at the northeast side of the airfield, which lies in the suburb of Meenambakkam due to which it was referred to as Meenambakkam Airport. A new terminal complex was subsequently built further south near Pallavaram to which passenger operations were shifted. The old terminal building is now used as a cargo terminal and is the base for the Indian courier company Blue Dart. Structure
Chennai International Airport consists of three terminals: The old terminal at Meenambakkam is used for cargo, while the new passenger terminal complex near Pallavaram is used for passenger operations. The passenger terminal complex consists of the domestic and international terminals interconnected by a link building, which houses administrative offices and a restaurant. Although the complex is one continuous structure, it was built incrementally, with the Kamaraj and Anna terminals being added in 1988 to the pre-existing Meenambakkam terminal. The first part to be built was the international terminal which had two aerobridges (jetways), followed by the domestic terminal with three aerobridges. After the completion of the domestic terminal, the old terminal at Meenambakkam was used exclusively for cargo. Recently the international terminal was extended further south by adding a new block which includes three aerobridges. At present, the new international block is used for departures while the older building is used for arrivals. The airport has the honour of being the first ISO 9000 certified airport in the country, which it received in 2001. Communication and Navigation
Facts and Figures
Currently, Chennai airport handles about 25 aircraft movements every hour, which will be saturated by the year 2014-15. However, peak hour traffic handling capability will be exhausted much earlier than that. Anna International Terminal handled 3,410,253 passengers in 2007-08 and has the capacity of handling 3M passengers annually, Already it has surpassed the passenger handling capacity. Similarly, Kamaraj Domestic Terminal, which handled 7,249,501 passengers in 2007-08, has the capacity to handle 6 million passengers annually. Here again the terminal demand far exceeds the capacity. In all Chennai airport handled a capacity of 10,659,754 passengers in 2007 - 08. The airport handled a cargo of 270,608 tonnes in 2007 - 08. Modernisation and Expansion
The airport at Meenambakkam has been slated for modernisation and expansion. The works are to be carried out by the Airports Authority of India and include the creation of a parallel runway, taxiways, aprons and new passenger handling buildings. The expansion works will involve the acquisition of land in nearby areas. The expansion of the existing airport would be taken up at Manapakkam, Kolapakkam, Kerugambakkam and Tharapakkam in Sriperumbudur taluk after a resolution to this effect was adopted by at the secretariat. The government would provide suitable compensation to 947 households in these areas and also rehabilitation to them. The rehabilitation of the households would be done in the first phase of the expansion work itself. The modernisation and restructuring is expected to cost around Rs 2,350 crore, of which the cost of construction of the runway, taxiway and apron would be around Rs 1,100 crore, while the cost of construction of the terminal building, cargo building, car park and face uplift would be Rs 1,250 crore. The proposed Chennai Metro Rail Project will connect the Chennai International Airport to various parts of the City. Tentatively, the project is programmed for completion in the financial year 2013-2014.[6] Facts
New Green Field AirportTamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has announced the setting up of a new greenfield airport at Sriperumbudur and Tiruvallur taluks, apart from the expansion of the existing airport at Meenambakkam. The greenfield airport would come up on 4,820.66 acres (19.5085 km2), expansion of Chennai airport would be done on 1,069.99 acres (4.3301 km2) at an estimated cost of Rs 2,000 crore. Initially the work for the greenfield airports was to be entrusted to the Airports Authority of India (AAI). However, the greenfield airport, mooted by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, coming up at Sriperumbudur near Chennai will be developed under a public-private partnership. The Prime Minister’s Committee has also asked for a pre-feasibility report for this airport. The green field airport would have four runways. Eyeing Chennai airport, leading global airport developers are forging alliances with Indian players for bidding for the project. The players interested in the project include Singapore Changi Airport, Macquarie Group, GMR Group, GVK Industries Ltd. and Tata Group. Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has clarified that “there is no role for the AAI in developing the greenfield airport near Chennai”. Proposed New Integrated TerminalChennai Airport to be India’s Greenest[7] 
The Airports Authority of India has chosen plans by a team of architects including Frederic Schwartz Architects, Hargreaves Associates, and Gensler based in the United States and Creative Group, New Delhi to expand the Chennai International Airport’s domestic and international terminals. When completed in 2010, the $300 million project will transform Chennai's airport into India’s greenest. 
The revamped Kamaraj Domestic Terminal will feature what designers describe as a “green gate”: a parking garage with a green roof and rainwater capture systems. Two 1 acre (0.0040 km2) gardens will form a central element within the terminal (top). The terminal’s wing-like curved roof is supported on large, full-height columns. The forward slope of these elements will work with the stiffness of the trusses to resist transverse wind and seismic forces. Along the building’s 984 ft (300 m) length, the V-shaped configuration of support columns will work integrally with a compression truss to create a repetitive series of stable triangulated elements to resist longitudinal forces. Large, arching space-frame trusses will allow for column-free public spaces on both the landside and airside terminal areas. Expansive glass curtain walls will boost the feeling of airiness and spaciousness, as will skylights. 
The design is a collaborative effort of four firms. While the Hargreaves Associates has done the landscape design while Frederic Schwartz firm is responsible for the design of buildings on the landside of the runway. The Creative Group would be the local architects for the project. The proposed design will be connected with the existing terminal design elements. It was earlier reported that the new terminal buildings will have a handling capacity of 10 million passengers and when integrated with existing terminals will provide for a handling capacity of 23 million passengers a year. The terminal buildings is expected to have an area of about 1, 40,000 sq. m. with 140 check-in counters and 60 immigration counters and the two runways would be interconnected by a taxiway. The design details of the runways are handled by the Airports Authority of India, while architecture firms are limited to designing buildings on the landside of the runway. The present proposal is parallel to the existing runway. The entire design as being organised around “two lush sustainable gardens” and the wing-like roofs helps collect rainwater and become part of the garden. Transport links
The airport is situated on the busy Chennai - Tiruchirapalli Grand Southern Trunk Road (National Highway 45) and is also served by the Airport station (Tirusulam) on the Suburban railway network.The proposed Metro Rail System (Chennai Metro) is also said to connect the Airport with other important places in Chennai. Terminals and destinationsDomestic flights in Chennai International Airport are handled at the Kamaraj Domestic Terminal (KDT), while the Anna International Terminal (AIT) is for international flights. The old terminal at Meenambakkam is used for cargo operations.
Kamaraj Terminal (Domestic)
Anna Terminal (International)
Cargo terminal
MRO Hangar FacilityFuture AirlineReferences
External links
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