Layout and Infrastructure
Spread over an area of 4,000 acres (1,600 ha), Chennai International Airport consists of three terminals: The old terminal at Meenambakkam is used for cargo, while the new passenger terminal complex at Tirusulam is used for passenger operations. The passenger terminal complex consists of the domestic and international terminals interconnected by a link building, which houses administrative offices and a restaurant. Although the complex is one continuous structure, it was built incrementally, with the Kamaraj and Anna terminals being added in 1988 to the pre-existing Meenambakkam terminal.
The first part to be built was the international terminal which had two aerobridges (jetways), followed by the domestic terminal with three aerobridges. After the completion of the domestic terminal, the old terminal at Meenambakkam was used exclusively for cargo. Recently the international terminal was extended further south by adding a new block which includes three aerobridges. At present, the new international block is used for departures while the older building is used for arrivals.
The international and the domestic terminals cover an area of 1.5 km2 and 1.8 km2, respectively. The airport is divided into two circles, with five zones each, for administrative conveniences. Around 550 acres of the 600-acre airport premises fall within the St. Thomas Mount and Pallavaram Cantonment Board's limits. The rest of the area comes under the Meenambakkam town panchayat's jurisdiction.
The Kamaraj (domestic) terminal has an area of 13,000.0 m2 (139,931 sq ft) and handles 4.74 million passengers a year. The Anna (International) terminal has an area of 54,000 m2 (580,000 sq ft).
The total area of retail space at the existing domestic and international terminals is 3,250 sq m, comprising 60 concessions including duty-free, retail shops, restaurants, snack bars and executive lounges.
The airport currently has 70 parking bays, one of which has been made to park the superjumbo aircraft Airbus A380. Works on the 24 new night parking bays had been completed in the apron area. With the new parking bays, the Chennai airport would have 81 parking bays.
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