Departure
95%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Chennai International Airport (VOMM/MAA) is the principal gateway to Tamil Nadu, sited at Tirusulam some 21 km southwest of the city centre and operated by the Airports Authority of India. It is one of the country's busiest airports, combining a long history dating back to 1930 with modern international and domestic terminal facilities and an unusual runway that crosses the Adyar river.
Chennai International Airport, known by the ICAO code VOMM and IATA code MAA, serves the Chennai metropolitan area from Tirusulam in Chengalpattu district, around 21 km southwest of the city centre. It is operated by the Airports Authority of India and acts as that organisation's southern regional headquarters, covering the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana together with the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry. For a simulator pilot it offers a busy mix of domestic and international airline traffic, a hub operation for Blue Dart Aviation, a focus city for Air India, and an operating base for IndiGo, all set against a long and layered aviation history.
The aerodrome lies within Chennai's controlled airspace and is served by area, approach and aerodrome control positions, reflecting its status as a major international airport handling both domestic and international traffic. It sits in the Greater Chennai Metropolitan Area at Tirusulam, roughly 21 km southwest of the city centre, and is closely associated with the Adyar river, which the airport's runway complex crosses.
Chennai has two physical runways. The main runway, 07/25, is 11,995 ft long, has a hard surface, is lit, and is equipped with ILS on both approach directions. The second runway, 12/30, is also hard-surfaced and lit; published landing distances differ by direction, with 9,470 ft available towards runway 30 and 6,909 ft towards runway 12. Field elevation is 46 ft.
Pilots operating to and from Chennai should expect the following frequencies: ATIS on 127.45 MHz, Tower on 118.1 MHz, Ground on 121.9 MHz, Approach on 127.9 MHz, Area Control (Chennai Centre) on 118.9 MHz, and a ground-controlled approach radar service, callsign Chennai Radar, on 125.7 MHz. Runway 07/25 is equipped with an ILS, supporting instrument approaches to that runway.
A notable feature for visual identification is the Adyar river, which the airport's runway and taxiway system crosses on a bridge, making Chennai the first international airport in India to have a runway built across a river.
Aviation at Chennai dates back to 1910, when Corsican hotelier Giacomo D'Angelis built and flew a biplane at the Island Grounds in Madras, in what is regarded as the first powered flight in Asia. Further flying displays followed in 1911 with aviators including Baron de Caters and Jules Tyck, and in 1914 water works engineer J. W. Madley flew an aircraft he had assembled over the Red Hills reservoir. Tata Air Mail began an airmail service between Karachi and Madras in 1915, marking the start of civil aviation in South India. The Madras Flying Club was founded in March 1930 following discussions initiated by pilot G. Vlasto, and the first instructional flight took off from the airstrip that July; the Madras aerodrome, commissioned the same year, was among the first airports in India. On 15 October 1932, J. R. D. Tata flew a Puss Moth carrying air mail from Karachi via Bombay's Juhu Airstrip to Madras, piloted by Nevill Vintcent, in what became the first scheduled flight to land at the airport. Tata began mail services to Colombo in 1936, with regular mail and passenger services following in 1938. Although commercial services had begun earlier, the airport was used mainly for military operations during the Second World War as a base for the Royal Indian Air Force. The Civil Aviation Department took over operations in 1952, and the first passenger terminal was built at Meenambakkam in 1954, with the airport then operating as a customs airport with limited international services. Control passed to the Airports Authority of India in 1972. An air cargo complex opened on 1 February 1978, the country's second such gateway cargo terminal after Kolkata. In August 1984 a bomb blast near the airport killed 33 people and injured 27 others, destroying the concourse, which had to be rebuilt. Passenger operations moved to a new domestic terminal at Tirusulam in 1985, and an international terminal was added in 1989, with the old terminal building converted to cargo use. British Airways began services to London Heathrow in November 1988, switching to Boeing 747s from April 1991. A dedicated handling centre for flowers, fruits and vegetables was commissioned at the cargo terminal in September 1999, and in 2001 the airport became the first in India to receive ISO 9001-2000 certification. A new international departure terminal was commissioned in 2003, and in May 2005 Delta Air Lines began the first direct flights to the Americas, connecting Chennai with New York via Paris.
Chennai International Airport today operates with Terminals 1 and 4 handling domestic traffic and Terminal 2, the Anna International Terminal, handling international operations, alongside a dedicated air cargo complex at the former Meenambakkam terminal. It ranks among India's busiest airports by passenger traffic and aircraft movements and by cargo handled, serving as a hub for Blue Dart Aviation, a focus city for Air India, and an operating base for IndiGo, with direct flights offered to three continents.