Chennai Airport

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.

I have lived in Chennai for over 25 years and currently reside in USA my home for the last 10 years. Frankly Chennai airport is a nightmare. Having lived in India for long I can put up with less-than-sparkling toilets but what amazes me is the perennial air-conditioning problems in the airport. It is not that air-conditioning technology is rocket science. It has been in vogue for almost 100 years now. Why then is it so difficult to make the air-conditioning effective? The nearly year-long hot and humid weather of Chennai makes the airport suffocating. I really pity the westerners who have to put up with this fuming and sweating. Other attractions of Chennai airport include glum-faced immigration inspectors who cannot smile or even utter a word of welcome to foreigners visiting our country indifferent and unhelpful airport staff etc. The sooner all airports are privatized in our country the better.

We have gone through Chennai Airport recently in 2006 and again just a few weeks ago. Even last year the airport was better than I had expected. This year the improvements to the International Terminal main hall are immense more seating gleaming floors and it seemed slightly less chaotic than our previous transit through it. Tea coffee cold drinks and snacks are available and the facilities are clean enough. Even the arrival and baggage collection on our inbound sector was fine. Despite the fact that the A/C isn't up and running yet I would certainly have Chennai as my airport of choice for entering/leaving India.

With major renovation works almost complete MAA is now more convenient particularly for domestic travellers. There are now two separate check- in areas for all domestic carriers as opposed to only one previously (which was always overcrowded). So checking-in (and particularly baggage screening) is less stressful. Also: new are separate airline lounges but I am not sure whether they are a real improvement. For one the combined Paramount/Sahara lounge does not serve any beer whereas the airport restaurant does. Second all the new lounges lack windows - the airport restaurant offers a spectacular view across the tarmac and runways. Security uncrowded despite my flight departing at 18.50. I checked the prices at the refreshment stand in the departure lounge and the prices are effectively daylight robbery (Rs 60 for a can of Coke). Still a lack of airbridges and most domestic pax have to be taken by bus. At Madras as at most Indian airports there seems to be a competition among airlines as to who can offer the most inaccessible airport bus - with some having you negotiate 4 steps to get on and off. Underslung bus chassis have been around since before WWII so what happened?

Not a bad little airport. Always a scrum before check-in unless you are travelling in business class but generally ok facilities and duty free a bit sparse but fairly clean.

I arrived late at night and had an early morning flight to Hyderabad so had to spend the night in the Domestic terminal. Airport itself is quite clean compared to others in India. Airconditioning ineffective so the airport itself was very humid. There seems to be a real mosquito problem in this airport. Overall it was clean security is a joke. Not too many shopping options or food options but tea and coffee as well as candy are available. There is a full time restaurant on the 2nd floor although I didn't try it out. International arrivals hall is surprisingly clean - okay airport for Indian standards.