Chennai Airport

I recently used visited MAA via Cathay Pacific from Sydney and left for Sydney on Thai. The airport still has the staid look on it though the number of immigration counters seems to have increased. The luggage took a while to arrive. On the return leg the immigration and the security were a breeze; however the allocation of gates and the announcements leave a lot to be desired. The food items are overpriced and the toilets are quite unclean.

Used Chennai airport (arrival from BKK at 23:30) and departure to BKK at 0025. Security checks on arrival and departure are very strict but well organised and going through is relatively swift taken into account the ageing building. My flights being at night both on arrival and departure I could experience on arrival a problem for locating an exchange booth which is operated by Thomas Cook but in a remote corner stall. When outside the crowd and dim lights give a feeling of unsafety. On late night departure after the process of check-in airside hall is a shame for regular travellers ie. the ones not holding a pass to use VIP rooms. Ranks of dirty seats (check before you seat down) probably never cleaned up. No facility except one small food stall selling bad veg sandwiches and few drinks at extravagant price for India. No restaurant despite a sign showing there has been one may be 2 centuries ago - toilet and drinking water also to be avoided. All in all an unpleasant experience as no comfort and dirty place.

Used Chennai Airport for International arrival at 2330 and Domestic departure at 0555. Swine flu Immigration and Customs checks very swift as ours was the only plane arriving. The baggage though took more than 15 minutes to arrive on the belts. Had to walk just 5 mins to the domestic terminal for the early morning departure. "Tired looking" is an understatement for the domestic terminal. There were more than 100 passengers waiting for morning domestic flights after international arrival. No proper seating arrangements and many were sitting or sleeping on the floor. Toilets were awful and stinking. The whole terminal building is in a miserable condition.

Used Chennai airport for domestic arrival and intl departures last week. The new domestic arrival is now part of the intl terminal and is new. Took 10 minutes from plane to curb side (no checked bags). very impressed. The arrivals hall is spacious and well lit. Intl Departures has been a consistently good experience over the past 2-3 years. My flight departed at 21:30 so customs immigration and security all deserted. Immigration officials in Chennai more civil and polite than Delhi. overall good experience.

From plane to car took no more than 20 minutes which was great but airport itself looked very old and tired. Flew home from different airport (the modern but awful Cochin) so was spared the departure experience.

The facilities for transfer passengers domestic flight to international with a long wait between flights are poor. There is only one very small and not good quality restaurant. There is no where to rest in reasonable comfort.

I used Madras Airport twice in the space of five days: once for an international departure and once in transit. Departing at noon the airport was not particularly busy. Nevertheless checking in at the Jet Airways counter (Premiere) took forever - it seemed the party ahead of me with more than one piece of checked baggage per head completely brought down the entire system. Lounge comfortable security swift but I fail to understand how so many passengers passed security and boarded our flight with three or even four pieces of hand baggage. Boarding through Gate 5 (bus gate) which is absolutely awful in terms of state of disrepair and trash all over the place. A few day later I was in transit from Colombo to Frankfurt and upon arrival was asked to leave my ticket and passport with a member of ground staff who eventually returned with my boarding card in hand more than two hours (!) later. Why not have a simple transit desk as everywhere else in the world?

Chennai Intl terminal is vastly improved since I last visited. Immigration counters on arrival side were staffed well and special attention was given to passengers traveling with children (like us). We were asked to move to an empty line meant for special category of travelers the staff made sure no one else piggy backed on us and other passengers with similar needs were also helped. The baggage area is more spacious and well lit. Exiting the terminal is also a little better as you are buffered from the meet and greet crowd very efficiently. But it was the Intl departure area that has improved more there are more shops and duty free (most items are over priced but they were running 2 for 1 deals on some brands of liquor). A new section has opened up which houses the AI Maharajah lounge as well as the BICA lounge. Security is still a big pain with long queues and the odd passenger trying to break in. Make sure you have a baggage tag on all carry on items (the ones where you write your name for ID that you find at the airline check in desk) security uses this to stamp on. If you don't have one then they will send you back. There is a smoking room past security. For the male traveler restrooms are just barely acceptable not sure about the ladies room. Jet Airways doesn't require you to Xray your bags before check in as they do it inline after check in.

Recently went through MAA for an international flight for the first time in a long while. The interior is still rather drab much like the Indian airports of yesteryear but the airport is much less congested than Delhi or Mumbai. Upon entry signage for the baggage screening machines (i.e. which one to use for your airline) is poor so you end up having to guess. Immigration counters were well-staffed and took no time at all and customs no longer goes out of their way to harass you like they used to 10 years ago. Shopping/food is dreadfully limited inside the terminal so if you need something to eat try the small food court outside the departures entry gate (the Anjappar restaurant serves decent local fare) or the restaurant on the second floor between the international and domestic terminals. The best thing about MAA is that unlike BOM or DEL the domestic and international terminals are next door to each other so if you have an inbound/outbound domestic connection it's a short 5 minute walk over - thus saving you from getting harassed for tips by the touts running the terminal shuttles or getting ripped off by the taxi/auto drivers.

Arrivals has continuously improved in the past 4 years. Passport control quick. Luggage arrival may take a while (30 mins to 1 hour); Customs is quick and easy. Smoking permitted inside terminal - a nuisance. Duty free can be purchased upon arrival not much of a choice though. Basic stuff. Foreign exchange - Thomas Cook office within the secure area available. Free local phone call permitted from assistance booth near baggage collection area. Most staff speak good english and respond well. Long-distance / international calls can be placed from telephone booths (labeled ISD/STD) which are manned and you can get receipts. If you have someone to pick you up at the airport: Clear customs; Exit immediately after customs and wait there. You will turn left to exit the "secure area". Do not do this unless you have seen the people waiting to receive you. If you have do not have someone to pick you up: Clear customs; Exit and as you turn left you will see two private travel agencies within the secure area (one is Akbar travels and the other is Airport Express). Both of them are prepaid safe reliable. Akbar costs 350 rupees (less than 10 USD) (as of Aug 2008) to a ride anywhere in to Chennai city. Tip the person who rolls your luggage (about 20 to 30 rupees); and tip the driver about the same. Walk very closely to the person who takes your luggage to your car since you might get lost in the crowd outside. MAA International Departures: Arrive at least 3 to 4 hours prior to departure time. Must have a ticket / itinerary printed and in your hand with passport to get in to the airport. No other options allowed. Check-in queues are very long and slow. Elite status helps (depending on airline). No food for purchase prior to check-in. Passport control is usually quick (max 30 minutes with a 100 people in line). Duty free available. Overpriced food available prior to and after security check (for your handbags etc). The food is actually good in the mornings (between 6 to 9:30 AM) and after that its not that great. Make sure you have a luggage tag for your hand baggage - this is true for all Indian airports. They will make you leave the line and go and get one. Also make sure you have exactly one piece of hand baggage...no matter what it is.(so fit everything in to one bag). Did not use any lounges. MAA Local airport: NEed ticket with ID to enter airport. Some food available prior to check-in. All luggage is screened with X-ray machines similar to international airport. These queues are long. Otherwise its generally quick to get through to check luggage and clear security. Individual airlines may be slow depending on quality of service. After security check there is extremely overpriced stuff to eat. A coffee dispensing machine. Its pretty boring otherwise. Nothing to do except people-watch. Most airlines need you to take a bus to the plane. Watch for the gates being called out. You could easily miss the call - but they track you down anyway if they know you checked-in.