Airports Authority of India (AAI) has submitted the preliminary project report to the Tamil Nadu government for building the satellite terminal at Chennai airport.

With a separate multi-level car parking and an office space, the satellite terminal will be constructed near the remote parking bays of the airport. Air passengers will have to access it from the National Highway 32. The AAI wants to build a separate elevated corridor for the terminal, along the NH32, which will start near Madha Arts and Science College in Thandalam, pass near the Adyar River bank and terminate at the satellite terminal.

As the development of a second airport for Chennai at Parandur will take at least another three years, developing the satellite terminal at the earliest is particularly important.

The satellite terminal plan came about nearly seven years ago to meetthe future traffic demands. As the project couldn’t take off then, it was put on hold. However, last year with a new proposal, it was relaunched again.

The AAI officials said that they had held discussions with the State government and were awaiting their response. “We don’t need any additional land from the State government. We only require them to grant us permission to access the land to build the elevated corridor. This aside, we have clearance from the Central Pollution Control Board and the Water Resources Department. If it comes through at the earliest, it will greatly help the airport,” an official said.

Chennai airport sees close to 65,000-66,000 domestic and international air passengers a day. Due to space constraints, there is an urgent need to have a satellite terminal until Parandur airport is constructed. With the rise in passenger traffic, to attract more airlines and for expanding connectivity, there is a need to have more aerobridges among other facilities at the airport. The satellite terminal will be equipped with additional aerobridges and aid in managing the air traffic.