The much-awaited taxi hailing plaza at the Chennai airport has opened after a delay of two years

Lanes A and B of the square have been reserved for passenger platforms, while lane C will serve as an exit lane. | Photo credit: R. Ragu

After a two-year wait, the taxi pick-up plaza at the Chennai airport was opened for air passengers on Sunday morning.

Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, who virtually inaugurated the facility, said the plaza is set to reduce congestion and streamline vehicular movement. “Looking at the significant improvement that the facility can bring to passenger comfort, we have decided that its inauguration should not be delayed due to the ongoing BRICS summit,” he said.

He was supposed to open the square in person, but he couldn’t come because of the summit. Developed at a cost of ₹ 22.88 crore, the plaza is located nearly 30 meters from the T1 domestic terminal and can handle 28 vehicles at a time in two collection lanes. The square has a capacity of 150 seats.

While lanes A and B have been reserved as passenger pick-up points, lane C will serve as an exit. Initially, Ola, Uber, Rapido, Fasttrack, Red Taxi and prepaid taxis will be allowed in the square and eventually it will be extended to other vehicles with yellow plates.

Mr Naidu said he had been particularly concerned about the experience of passengers arriving at Chennai airport for some time. “We were getting a lot of feedback, there were also a lot of articles in the newspaper (that) passengers with heavy luggage, elderly passengers, families with small children, had to go (to) the multi-level car park and then (to) the second floor. So we came up with this solution, which is a dedicated cab pickup plaza located 30 meters in front of the terminal,” he said when you exit the terminal.

Mr. Naidu said as Chennai grows, so does the pressure on the infrastructure around it. “Given that Chennai is a space-constrained airport and is located in the heart of the city, plus (there is) a growing number of passengers. It presented us with some unique challenges,” he noted.

The minister also said that the construction of the T3 terminal is progressing on multiple fronts and will be completed by April 2027. “We are constantly monitoring from the ministry to ensure that this time there will be no more delays and it will be completed on time,” he assured. The terminal is expected to increase the passenger handling capacity of Chennai Airport from around 20 million passengers to 35 million passengers annually.

“Despite several operational constraints, including the presence of operational terminals on both sides of the site, and supply chain disruption due to the West Asian crisis (there were delays), great efforts are being made to meet the deadlines,” he said.

“T5 in planning phase”

Terminal 5 for the Chennai airport is now in the planning stage and the ministry will be in talks with the state government to find out how to expand the capacity, Mr. Naidu said. The completion of the T5 terminal will increase the overall capacity of the Chennai airport to around 55 million passengers per annum, he added.

Some of the first users of the square said that it was much more convenient than the previous arrangement to go to the parking lot.

Saji Mathew, who landed from Bengaluru, said he was pleasantly surprised and happy to see the new cab pickup location.

Published – 14 Sep 2026 05:00 IST