Chennai International Airport guide

Chennai International Airport serves the Tamil Nadu capital from Tirusulam, about 21 km southwest of the city centre, and functions as the Airports Authority of India's southern regional headquarters. The first air service in South India began here in 1915, and the airport was commissioned in 1930; it is now the fifth-busiest airport in India by passenger traffic and aircraft movements.

Two runways handle a mixed schedule of domestic and long-haul international traffic. Blue Dart Aviation runs its main cargo hub here, Air India treats the airport as a focus city, and IndiGo bases aircraft at the field. The Chennai Metro's Blue Line reaches the airport at an elevated station, the only elevated airport metro station in India, with its concourse linked directly to the passenger terminals.

Terminal 2, a newly integrated building, took over international departures in phases from July 2023, replacing the older Terminal 3, which was then demolished to expand it further. Terminal 1 continues to handle the bulk of domestic flights, alongside Terminal 4 - originally built as an international terminal during the 2008 modernisation project and converted to domestic operations in November 2023.