CHENNAI

Chennai Airport has the third highest total traffic amongst India’s airports, behind Delhi and Mumbai. The city is located in southern India, which is currently experiencing economic growth above the national average, due to the strong performance of information technology, bio-tech, textile and automotive industries.

The airport is currently managed by the Airports Authority of India, however under the government’s modernisation plan, Chennai is scheduled to be the next airport for which private sector participation is invited. The initiative has support at both the state and central government levels. An issue currently under debate is whether the development plan should focus on the current facility, or whether in fact development of a greenfield airport would be more appropriate for long term growth.

The two other major airports in southern India, Bangalore and Hyderabad, both have greenfield airports under construction, both of which are due for completion in 2008. With expanded capacity and world class facilities, these airports are expected to be in a stronger position to attract new airline services in competition with Chennai

Nevertheless, Chennai’s geographical position, approximately 3 hours from key Southeast Asian destinations such as Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, with which there are strong social ties due to the large Indian Tamil populations in those cities, suggests good opportunities for low cost airline operations which would support strong traffic growth.