Chennai Airport (MAA) Guide

Before security

• Entry: boarding pass/ticket plus photo ID checked at terminal entry gates.
• Digi Yatra face-recognition lanes are available — register in the app to skip document checks.
• Web check-in beforehand lets you go straight to bag drop.

Good to know

• The international terminal is long — allow 10+ minutes to far gates after security.
• Gate assignments appear on screens after security and can change — re-check boards rather than trusting the boarding-pass print.
• Early-morning international departures (the 1–4 AM Gulf and Southeast Asia wave) are Chennai’s busiest window — queues peak then, not at 9 AM.

In the arrivals hall

• SIM cards: telecom kiosks in international arrivals — passport and photo needed.
• Prepaid taxi counters (run with Tamil Nadu Tourism) offer fixed fares — roughly ₹420 to T Nagar, ₹580 to Sholinganallur (OMR) — pay at the counter, receipt in hand, scam-proof.
• Meet & assist services can be pre-booked through airlines for arrival help.

Meeting someone?

• Greeters wait outside the terminal exits — entry to the building requires a ticket.
• Arrivals lanes allow only brief stops; for longer waits use the car park and coordinate by phone.

Indian citizens

• Immigration applies to international trips only — passport, boarding pass, and destination visa where needed.
• Fast Track Immigration (FTI-TTP) e-gates are being rolled out at major airports including Chennai for registered Indian citizens — enrol online in advance.
• Returning residents get a duty-free allowance (general goods up to a rupee limit, plus limited alcohol and tobacco) — check current CBIC limits before shopping abroad.

OCI holders & PRs abroad

• OCI card holders use visa-free entry with a valid foreign passport + OCI card; the FTI-TTP fast-track is open to OCI holders too.
• Indian-origin travellers with foreign PR (e.g. US green card) but no OCI need a visa/e-visa like other foreign nationals.

Foreign nationals

• e-Visa holders: follow the dedicated e-Visa counters at immigration — carry the printed ETA approval.
• Regular visas use the standard foreigner queues; complete the arrival card from the plane or the hall.
• Customs: green channel if nothing to declare; currency above prescribed limits (foreign cash beyond ~US$5,000, or higher total instruments) must be declared.

Lounges

• Travel Club Lounge (international terminal) — the modern flagship in the new terminal: buffet dining, business zones, showers. Access via Priority Pass, premium cabins, and many bank cards.
• Travel Club Lounge (domestic) — the domestic-side equivalent for pre-flight food and quiet.
• Air India Maharaja Lounge — for AI premium cabins and Star Alliance Gold.
• Card note: bank lounge programmes changed across India in late 2025 — confirm your card’s current access before relying on it.

ATMs & forex

• Bank ATMs are available in both terminals, landside and airside.
• Currency exchange counters operate around the clock in the international terminal — airport rates carry a premium, so change only what you need.
• Chennai runs on UPI; a working international card plus a small cash reserve covers most travellers.

Shopping

The new international terminal has duty-free, branded retail, and good South Indian craft and silk options for last-minute gifts — Kanchipuram silk being the classic Chennai buy.

Food

Both terminals cover South Indian classics through global fast food — and this is one airport where the idli-vada-filter coffee is genuinely worth choosing over a burger. Pre-security outlets are generally cheaper.

Restrooms & essentials

Restrooms are frequent and well-signed, with accessible facilities. The airport also offers free time-limited Wi-Fi, pharmacies, a medical centre, child-care rooms — and AAI retiring rooms for inexpensive layover sleep (book ahead).

The easy news

Chennai’s terminals are adjacent buildings on one campus — transferring between domestic and international is a short walk (10–15 minutes) along connected and covered routes, not a bus journey. This makes MAA one of India’s easiest major airports for self-transfers.

Connecting flights

International→domestic: you still clear immigration, collect bags, and re-check — keep at least 2.5–3 hours. With construction ongoing, walking routes occasionally divert; follow signage and ask staff if unsure.

Metro & rail

• Metro Blue Line: the airport station links to the terminals by covered walkway and runs through Guindy, Egmore and Chennai Central — about 35–60 minutes across the city with fares capped around ₹50. The traffic-proof option.
• Suburban rail: Tirusulam station sits just across GST Road from the airport — ultra-cheap local trains along the Beach–Tambaram line.

Taxi & ride-hailing

• Prepaid counters at arrivals (with Tamil Nadu Tourism): fixed sedan fares like ₹420 to T Nagar and ₹580 to OMR/Sholinganallur.
• Uber/Ola pick up from marked zones; autos (metered) serve nearby suburbs.
• City centre by road: 40–55 min off-peak, 60–90 in rush hour.

Bus & car

• MTC airport buses connect CMBT (Koyambedu) and other hubs, including overnight deluxe services (~₹70–100).
• Parking: multi-level and surface lots at the terminals.
• Heading down the coast? Mahabalipuram and the IT corridor (OMR) are direct runs from the airport side of the city.

Under 30 min away

• St. Thomas Mount — hilltop shrine and sweeping city views, barely 10 minutes from the terminals.
• Guindy National Park — one of the few national parks inside a major city, with a children’s park and snake park, ~15–20 min.

Worth it with 6+ hours

• Marina Beach & Mylapore — the epic city beach plus the Kapaleeshwarar Temple quarter, ~45–60 min.
• Fort St. George & the museum district — colonial-era Chennai.
• Mahabalipuram — the UNESCO shore temples, ~1–1.5 hr down the coastal road; doable on a long layover if you’re decisive.

Closest to the airport

• St. Thomas Mount National Shrine — held to be where the Apostle Thomas was martyred; ~10 min from the terminals and arguably India’s most historically significant church site.
• Vadapalani Murugan Temple — famous Murugan temple, ~25–30 min.

Chennai’s icons

• Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Mylapore — the Dravidian-gopuram masterpiece at the heart of old Chennai.
• San Thome Basilica — built over the tomb of St. Thomas, one of only a few churches worldwide raised over an apostle’s tomb.
• Parthasarathy Temple, Triplicane — 8th-century Krishna temple.
• Wallajah (Big) Mosque, Triplicane — Chennai’s grand 18th-century mosque.

Lost something at the airport?

• Chennai Airport is run by the Airports Authority of India — report lost items at the terminal’s lost & found / airport manager’s office before leaving if possible, or via the official page at aai.aero/en/airports/chennai.
• Left something on the plane? Items found onboard go to your airline, not the airport — contact the airline directly.
• Carry photo ID and proof of travel when collecting a found item.

Airline customer service

Use only the contact details on airlines’ official websites — fake “customer care numbers” planted in search results are a common scam in India:

• Air India — airindia.com → Contact Us
• IndiGo — goindigo.in → Contact Us (24/7 chat in-app)
• SpiceJet — spicejet.com → Contact Us
• Akasa Air — akasaair.com → Support
• International carriers: use the airline’s own site, or their ticketing counters at the international terminal.

At the airport

The airport has 24/7 medical facilities with doctors and ambulances — ask any airport staff member or CISF officer for the nearest medical centre. India’s all-in-one emergency number is 112 (ambulance also via 102/108).

Major hospitals within ~30 min

• MIOT International, Manapakkam — large multi-speciality hospital, ~15 min; the closest major private hospital to the airport.
• Fortis Malar, Adyar — full-service private hospital, ~30 min.
• Apollo Hospitals, Greams Road — the flagship of India’s biggest private chain, ~40–50 min in the city centre.

Major missions

The U.S. Consulate General (Anna Salai area), the British Deputy High Commission, and consulates of Germany, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Australia and others operate across central Chennai.

Before you go

• Nearly all consulates require an appointment — check the official website; walk-ins are usually only for citizen emergencies.
• Most consular sections work weekday mornings only.
• For a lost passport you’ll typically also need a police report (Tamil Nadu Police supports online lost-property e-complaints).

Physical stores

• Meenambakkam & Pallavaram — pharmacies, convenience stores, and everyday supplies minutes from the terminals along GST Road.
• Supermarkets — chains across Alandur, Guindy and Chromepet for bigger shops.

The Chennai shortcut: delivery apps

Staying at an airport hotel? Quick-commerce apps — Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart — deliver groceries, toiletries, chargers, and medicine to the lobby in 10–30 minutes.

Hotel dining & bars

The Trident (5 min away) and Radisson Blu GRT (10 min) welcome non-guests and are the reliable moves for a proper dinner or a drink before a late flight; ITC Grand Chola in Guindy is the special-occasion splurge.

South Indian classics

Chennai’s beloved vegetarian chains — Saravana Bhavan, Adyar Ananda Bhavan (A2B) and their peers — have branches along GST Road and Guindy: dosa, filter coffee, and a full meals thali minutes from the airport.

A note on bars

Tamil Nadu regulates alcohol more tightly than most states — bars outside hotels are limited, so for a drink near the airport, hotel bars are the dependable option.