Chennai airport misses multiple deadlines to complete beautification work, flyers to wait till August to access second pick-up point for cabs

A view of ongoing landscaping work at Chennai airport, on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: Ravindran. R

The plaza and landscaping work took off in 2023 at Chennai airport at a vast space opposite to the T1 Domestic Terminal with an aim to provide visitors and arriving passengers a place to relax for a brief period before exiting the airport. It was scheduled to be completed by October 2024. But the work has missed multiple deadlines, and the latest deadline is July end. Once facility is ready in August, the second pick up point for taking cabs will be created, Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials said. 

The completion of the project is critical for air passengers because this is the place (erstwhile flag-pole location) where air passengers were boarding cabs. From August 2024, air passengers arriving at the airport could no longer take cabs from opposite to the T1 Terminal as the AAI switched the pick-up point to the second floor of a multi-level parking facility, which meant, passengers from T1 Terminal had to take a 400 metre walk and then take an elevator to get on a cab.

Exasperated commuters have been flagging the need to restore the old arrangement for months now. While buggies have been introduced to ferry passengers, they say, it is not as convenient.

Karthik K, a frequent flyer said, “At least 300 passengers exit the terminal when an international flight arrives. How do passengers with multiple baggage board a buggy? They end up waiting quite a while for a buggy. What authorities fail to factor in is the difficulty to walk or wait in the city’s humidity and heat.”

Satish Galley, another passenger, said, the authorities should have built bigger lifts which can accommodate a lot of people. “After waiting for a cab, people have to yet again stand for a while to catch the elevator, and it is a frustrating process. It is not passenger friendly,” he fumed.

Officials of AAI said, the landscaping work has been delayed due to unforeseen circumstances, and it will certainly be over by July-end. “Nearly 60 percent of the landscaping work has been finished so far. The roofing of the canopy will have to be finished in some parts. Also, there is some more work left to be completed for creating the walkway, setting up lighting and beautification,” an official said.