Gateway to the world, from Madurai 

After it was declared a customs airport in 2010, the Madurai airport has finally become an international terminal. The Union Cabinet Committee, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the proposal on March 10. The decision will facilitate the operation of flights to international destinations, especially to West Asian countries, Singapore, and Malaysia, which host a significant diaspora from southern Tamil Nadu.

British-era airstrip

One of the oldest airports of Tamil Nadu, Madurai has for long been the gateway to the southern districts till the Thoothukudi airport was inaugurated in 1992. The airstrip in Madurai that became operational in 1942 was used to fly newspapers from Chennai to Madurai. It became a civil airport in 1952 and started commercial operations in 1957.

With a small terminal building, the Madurai airport was handling only domestic services to destinations, including New Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai. The inauguration of the spacious integrated terminal in September 2010 renewed the demand for international flights. However, the airport was then accorded the status of customs-notified airport. That status equipped the airport with modern facilities, such as the 17,560-square metre integrated terminal comprising 36 check-in counters and aero-bridges.

The first international flight landed in Madurai in September 2012. Colombo became the first international destination to be connected with Madurai with SpiceJet launching its services. Soon, Mihin Lanka offered a service between Madurai and Colombo. The next year, Madurai got a direct flight to Dubai.

Only two international flights were in operation for long. Then came Air India Express with the first direct flight to Singapore in September 2017. To start with, the service operated four days a week and became a daily service by March 2018, thanks to the demand. Abu Dhabi became the fourth international destination linked to Madurai in 2025.

Late-night flights

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) made the Madurai Airport operational 24×7 from October 1, 2024. However, there were not many takers for the late-night and early morning flights. 

However, passenger patronage had been on the rise and the airport handled 1.39 million passengers, including 0.23 million international passengers, in 2024-25. This forced the AAI to take up a slew of reconfiguration projects at the terminal to increase its passenger-handling capacity.

The immigration counters were shifted to the first floor and the additional space on the ground floor was used to increase the number of check-in counters from 16 to 28, Madurai Airport Director P. Muthu Kumar said.

Now, 16 immigration counters are available for international passengers. Flights to three international destinations — Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Colombo — are in operation after Air India Express withdrew its popular Singapore service. Additional X-ray machines are being installed for baggage scanning.

Meanwhile, the AAI has expedited its earlier proposal to have an additional terminal building. “We are planning a 10,000-square metre additional terminal building, which will be used exclusively for international passengers,” the Airport Director said. Acquisition of over 500 acres of land for runway extension is at an advanced stage.

“The demand for international status for the Madurai airport was raised even when I was a Member of Parliament [Rajya Sabha in 1992-98],” said V.V. Rajan Chellappa, AIADMK MLA of the Tirupparankundram constituency, where the airport is located.

The major reason Madurai could not attract flight services to other international destinations, including Kuala Lumpur, was the lack of bilateral air service agreement (BASA) with other countries.

Senior industrialist S. Rethinavelu, who has been spearheading the demand on behalf of trade and industry representatives, said it had not been fulfilled all these years on flimsy grounds. “Some political leaders had the thought that the development of the Madurai airport would be detrimental to the growth of the Tiruchi international airport,” he added.

When a policy to protect Indian airlines came up for discussion, the demand was made for including the Madurai airport in the BASA for certain destinations. “Then, the Central government was under the impression that if foreign airlines were to land in Madurai, they would grab all business opportunities of the Indian airlines,” he added.

‘Election stunt’

Virudhunagar MP B. Manickam Tagore, who is also the chairperson of the Madurai Airport Advisory Committee, has described the Centre’s decision as an “election stunt”. “Only the name board of the airport has changed. But other formalities to get air connectivity to desired international destinations have not been processed,” he said.

Madurai MP Su. Venkatesan thanked Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu for addressing, at last, the long-standing demand of the southern districts.

“We have been making this demand for long. Owing to the Centre’s stubborn stand denying the BASA for the Madurai airport, airlines such as Air Arabia and Fly Dubai, which showed keen interest in operating international services to Madurai, could not do so,” he said.

He pointed out that the Centre had granted three international airports to Uttar Pradesh in just 10 months. “Madurai sees better patronage from international passengers than the three airports in Uttar Pradesh,” he said.

The trade bodies had also urged the government to include Madurai as a point of call (PoC) in the list of 18 tourist destinations across India for designated ASEAN carriers under the ASEAN Open Sky Policy. “But the Minister had then rejected the demand, claiming it was a one-time policy decision,” Mr. Tagore said. Meanwhile, the Khajuraho airport was made a PoC under this scheme, though it was a domestic airport without any international services, Mr. Venkatesan added.

However, Mr. Rammohan Naidu, who unveiled the Madurai International Airport name boards in the city on Saturday (March 14, 2026) said the Centre would help in bringing international connectivity to Madurai, as it had made the airport operational 24×7 and granted it the international airport status.

Mr. Rethinavelu said that bringing the Madurai airport under the ASEAN Open Sky Policy would open the floodgates for the airport to operate flights to 10 countries — Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos. It will boost tourism and pilgrimage activity at Kodaikanal, Courtallam, Rameswaram, Kanniyakumari, and Karaikudi.

“Madurai, a hub of hospitals providing quality treatment at an affordable cost, will become an attractive destination for medical tourism,” he added. Besides, it would facilitate further development of the Madurai-Thoothukudi Industrial Corridor.

Tamil Nadu betting big

As Tamil Nadu looks to become a one trillion-dollar economy by 2030-31, a key marker and force multiplier to propel the State forward would be world-class airports and diversified growth in aviation. To align with its goal of distributed development, the State has set its sights on developing three key airports — Parandur (near Chennai), Hosur, and Rameswaram. These promising projects could put Tamil Nadu back among the top three spots in the country’s aviation map, experts say.

Till the end of the 1990s, Madras was the air-connectivity hub of South India. It started losing its sheen by the beginning of the millennium. While the other metro airports were poised for privatisation for efficient operation, expansion of connectivity, and addition of passengers, Chennai’s second airport planned at Sriperumbudur was put on the back burner. In the last four years, the State government has finally caught up.

While the Parandur airport would be to Chennai what Kempegowda  International Airport is to Bengaluru, the Hosur project would not only further bolster the industrial growth in the region but would also attract traffic from Bengaluru. The Rameswaram airport is expected to improve tourism prospects and push regional development.

Parandur

The State government is pinning its hopes on this ambitious project which could drastically change the flying experience from Chennai. Announced in 2022, it has so far received site clearance and in-principle approval. The government is gearing up to complete land acquisition. The ₹27,400-crore project, to be implemented in four phases, will augment capacity and allow the airport to handle 100 million passengers annually.

While 5,746 acres has been earmarked for this project, 1,700 acres has been acquired so far. A tender for choosing the concessionaire will be floated, sources say. Some of the top airport private players have reportedly evinced interest in the project. The government also needs to step up efforts to link Parandur to the core areas of the city with a mass rapid transit system.

Hosur 

The Hosur airport could be a game changer for the State betting big on its manufacturing capabilities. Owing to its proximity to Bengaluru, a section of Bengaluru residents and businesses could significantly benefit from the airport at Hosur, a manufacturing and electronic hub. But the wait for Hosur will be longer and the process of securing approval is unlikely to be easy.

Under the Bangalore International Airport Limited’s concession agreement with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, no new airport for commercial flight operations can commence within a 150-km radius till 2033, and it stands as the biggest stumbling block. But, recently, the Centre has said it will revisit the current policy that prevents the operation of two airports within a 150-km radius.

Though the State government was rather quick to finalise the site for the Hosur airport in Shoolagiri taluk (between Berigai and Bagalur) and sought approval from the Ministry of Defence, the request for airspace was declined twice. Sources said the State government intends to pursue this application.

Rameswaram

The Rameswaram airport project is in the nascent stage. Though envisioned as a small airport with a capacity to handle Code C aircraft, when the airport gets ready in the next 5-7 years, it could strengthen the tourism potential in the region dotted with iconic and ancient temples. After finishing the pre-feasibility study of two sites — near Uchipulli and Keelakarai, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has suggested the latter. The State government will choose a site in the next few months and nearly 600 acres will have to be acquired for the airport.

(With inputs from Sunitha Sekar in Chennai.)