On why the plan to build a parallel runway at Chennai airport never took off

The project included land acquisition in quite a few locations such as Kolapakkam, Manapakkamm, and Gerugambakkam among others. However, the residents objected to this plan. | Photo Credit: B. VELANKANNI RAJ At a time when the Tamil Nadu government has been planning to increase the handling capacity of Chennai airport to 55 million passengers a year, it is to be remembered that Airports Authority of India (AAI) once had a plan to construct a parallel runway.Nearly two decades ago, at first, AAI had planned to construct a parallel runway for the airport in a bid to enhance capacity and reduce congestion. At that time, the State government still had active plans to build a second airport for the city at Sriperumbudur and this was one of the reasons why it was shelved. Subsequently, over years, many habitations had come up in and around the area and it became challenging to implement the plan.This project included land acquisition in quite a few locations such as Kolapakkam, Manapakkamm, and Gerugambakkam among others. The residents also objected to this plan. Sources in AAI said while it was possible to implement such a plan nearly 20 years ago, it is very difficult to do so now because the number of developments in the vicinity of the airport have increased much more now. “The number of obstacles and habitations have gone up substantially,” an official said. Another official also pointed out that till today, there are several obstacles in the approach path of the secondary runway and that itself has not been cleared in entirety. Published - August 26, 2026 07:24 pm IST