Chennai Airport

Not Verified | On arrival into the airport, there are notices for foreigners to complete the Arrival Card however there were no Arrival Cards arrival for me to complete. I proceeded to the main immigration desk on the advice from a staff member, that perhaps I didn't need one. Which seemed confusing as I am not a national of India and in previous experience, would need the card. On arrival at the desk - for my first time in India - the Immigration Officer slammed my passport down and pointed at a small office and yelled saying 'Go there fill in the card and then come back'. I went to the office and said Good Morning to the two seated inside the office and asked for the card and they practically threw it at me. If the airport was organised, they would of had the cards already presented for people on arrival. In addition, I was told I had to wait for another traveller to finish with the only one pen they had because there are no others. The other traveller and their family also agreed the system was poor. Baggage claim was as expected and no problems to report here besides the fact you get hassled to show you luggage tag to some random person checking the luggage tags. How does one person check all of the tags of people getting their luggage? The main concern is that this is being positioned as as International Airport and there is no WiFi available in the building unless you go the Airport Lounge which includes a cost. I was unable to purchase a sim-card on arrivals and there is no facility that provides one. The taxi system is ridiculous people yelling at you outside. Please book a car with your hotel and spend the money. If you really want a taxi, get an uber. As for the Departure's section, there are no tvs or screens, no comfortable seating, no coffee shops, no food outlets or anything to do for leisure or entertainment and people inside are not helpful. If you have a lay over do not go inside and waste your time. You can only enter the airport for the day you are travelling and they tell you once you go inside the airport you cannot leave. So if you don't have any stable internet connection you are stuck. The toilets were maintained but they are not clean. Staff pushing around a mop pushing the dust from one corner to another, and sitting on the floor under shelves. Why are staff sitting on the floor when there are travellers from all over the world coming here? There are hundreds of people walking around with lanyards on that aren't doing anything productive. Some staff members who are not wearing a uniform so not easily identifiable. I watched people sitting at the 'May I help you Desk' a tiny information desk on their phones having chats with their friends not engaged in providing a full service to people approaching the desk for help. Another member of the 'May I help you Desk' team was napping on the chair next to it? Sleeping at work? Post Immigration where they tell you there is WiFi there is none available. Do not believe them. The duty free was lack lustre, and the food outlets the same. I am appalled by the lack of customer care, service and support for International Travellers. The whole experience in this airport was abysmal. I would not recommend this airport and feel it is important to manage other people's expectations.

✅ Trip Verified |   My recent experience at this airport was frustrating and highlighted a severe lack of planning and maintenance, particularly in the international arrivals section. Despite having numerous immigration counters, less than 30% were staffed. This resulted in long, unnecessary queues, with travelers left waiting while the majority of counters remained empty. The air conditioning system was either ineffective or nonexistent. Passengers, already fatigued from travel, were left sweating in the stifling heat while standing in line—a basic comfort that any international airport should provide. Bottleneck at Hand Baggage Screening: After clearing immigration, the ordeal continued. With only one hand baggage screening machine operational, travelers faced an additional 20-minute delay. This level of inefficiency is inexcusable. Customs officers use white chalk to mark bags for random checks, which is not only outdated but also damages the appearance and material of luggage. This approach is disrespectful to passengers who expect their belongings to be handled with care. Many trolleys were in poor condition, with misaligned wheels requiring significant effort to push. This made an already unpleasant experience even worse for those managing heavy luggage. Passengers must walk a considerable distance from the arrivals terminal to reach the taxi stand. While there are assistants available to help with baggage, many of them demand tips despite claiming the service is free—a practice that reflects poorly on the airport's management. To top it all off, the airport offers limited direct connections, especially to Europe, making it an unattractive hub for international travelers. Overall, the airport fails to meet even the basic standards expected of an international gateway. The inefficiencies, poor facilities, and lack of passenger care make this one of the worst arrival experiences I have had. Serious improvements are needed to elevate it to acceptable global standards.

✅ Trip Verified | I had the unfortunate experience of transiting through Chennai International Airport, and it was one of the worst travel experiences I've ever had. From the moment I arrived, I felt harassed and mistreated. The tax officers were relentless, targeting everyone in a way that felt invasive and unnecessary. The immigration process was equally frustrating, with long delays and rude officials. The lack of basic amenities like WiFi and food options made the experience even worse. You're confined to a small, cramped area with no place to rest or sleep, making it feel more like a jail than an airport. For anyone considering a layover in Chennai, I strongly advise against it. The poor conditions and treatment are not worth the stress. Choose another airport if you can.

Not Verified | We had a very pleasant and satisfactory experience on April 28th Sunday departure. The facilities are international standards. The rest rooms were neat and clean. One Ms Renuka Devi staff in the rest room kept asking whether all okay and she made sure that i felt comfortable and happy. We appreciate all the staff and the officers whole heartedly.

✅ Trip Verified | I hope I never, ever have to step foot in Chennai Airport again! What a complete disaster of a place this is, utterly hateful and stressful experience from start to finish! Firstly to gain access to the terminal, you have to get past rude, officious security guards posted at each entrance. They demand to see your passport and a paper print out of the ticket, an electronic version or boarding pass will not do. After much pleading and intervention of Sri Lankan airline staff, they agreed to accept the electronic version of our ticket as proof. Twice we had to go through this as obviously we had no access to a printer being foreign tourists and nowhere did we get a warning this was a requirement until we checked in. What century are they living in when they refuse to accept an electronic ticket/boarding pass? Next the staff at security are possibly the rudest anywhere in the world. Horrid, miserable, angry woman pulled my carry-on aside for examination and just bellowed 'take, take it, take it, take it!' without even bothering to look at the contents. Absolutely disgusting attitude! Why pull it aside if she had no intention of even looking at it? It seemed like the only motivation was to pick a fight. Add to this.... Toilets are the filthiest I have ever seen with excrement all over seats, urine on floor etc. No Wi-Fi whatsoever, paid or otherwise as you need an Indian Mobile number to access it. Shops, poor as they are, are all unbelievably expensive and overpriced, twice as expensive as at Zurich Airport in Switzerland. Needless to say they were all empty of customers. The international terminal 2 departures, consists of vast areas of barren space with a few dirty looking seats dotted around, generally depressing and miserable looking. At arrivals, the border staff are as thick as mince. They kept looking at my expired visa from a previous visit 5 years ago, rather than the current one, even when I pointed it out to them. As such they claimed I didn't have a visa until a senior person intervened and 'found' the correct visa, the one I showed them multiple times. Once you leave the airport expect to be accosted by thousands of taxi drivers trying to scam you into paying £20 to the centre of Chennai. Best arrange a hotel pick up before leaving! We would have flown direct to Colombo if we had known how bad Chennai Airport was, horrible place and the staff are completely devoid of humanity. I feel lucky to have got through the place alive quite honestly, worst airport in the world!

Not Verified | The newly built international airport is dirty, the finish is poor, the cleaning staff are on their mobile phones or chatting, the toilets are dirty, the security is slow and the is manned by disinterested personnel. Overall it is probably the worst airport I have visited in the last 5 years. I hear there are plans to build another airport.

✅ Trip Verified | Came from DEL on domestic and departed to FRA from international terminal. Connectivity between terminals is a big pain area, specially if one has luggage to push around. The travellators don't allow for trolleys to go on them, walking all the way is the only option available. Further, international terminal is nothing but a mess and disarray. Gates are scattered far and in between. Too few food options and so called food court is full of pigeons fluttering around. Absolute mismanagement, small domestic terminals are better managed than this.

✅ Trip Verified | The worst experience with transfer I ever had. Arrived to T4 from Sri Lanka expected to transit out with Lufthansa with unfortunate layover of 10h. I was left 3.5h sitting in corridor in front of security check with explanation that I have to wait LU staff that will not come earlier the in couple of hours to pass me through despite I had valid boarding pass for my next flight! Moreover in Business class nobody cared at all no information and they even taken my passport for whole this time. Once this nightmare was over I found that behind security its even worse, it looks like after some natural disaster, all shops closed halfway destroyed, terrible lounge with one toilet in sanitary condition that would not allow to enter, never ever would take any transit through this nightmare, god bless I did not travel with kids this time

✅ Trip Verified | Very Poor Maintenance of toilets and Cleanliness. The airport didn't even deserve to a domestic arrival. Foreign nationals actually hesitate to step into restrooms or touch the walls. The Air conditioning is also so low and baggage receiving time is taking minimum of 1.5 hours. In such a case Tamilnadu can never promote tourism having so much of cultural spots like old temples and architecture. The toilets directions had not symbols if they are not able to read English they cannot go to the restrooms. The international standards are not maintained anywhere including the people communication skills.

✅ Trip Verified | A dilapidated interior, nothing attractive and staff without any empathy. Catering is nothing, renovation works everywhere and passengers eating while sitting on the floor. Lovely to depart from Chennai!