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112-632: Chennai International Airport ( IATA : MAA , ICAO : VOMM ) is an international airport serving the city of Chennai , the capital of Tamil Nadu , India . It is located in Tirusulam in Chengalpattu district , in the Greater Chennai Metropolitan Area around 21 km (13 mi) southwest of the city centre. The first air service was operated in 1915 and the airport was commissioned in 1930. The airport serves as

224-566: A bridge over the watercourse at a cost of ₹ 4,300 million (US$ 52 million). The runway which was initially 2,035 m (6,677 ft) long was planned to be extended to 3,445 m (11,302 ft). The expansion was completed in March 2011. The bridge over the Adyar river accommodated the runway and a taxiway, making Chennai airport the first international airport in India to have a runway across

336-509: A building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from an aircraft . The buildings that provide access to the airplanes (via gates ) are typically called concourses . However, the terms "terminal" and "concourse" are sometimes used interchangeably, depending on the configuration of the airport. Smaller airports have one terminal while larger airports have several terminals and/or concourses. At small airports,

448-414: A cost of ₹ 111.5 million (US$ 1.3 million). The facility can handle one large or two smaller aircraft and functions as a repair shop and assembly area. It is equipped with an engineering and training facility and an engineering maintenance conference room. Fire and rescue services at the airport are provided by Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services in conjunction with AAI. TajSATS, a joint-venture of

560-522: A large building with the attached ancillaries for planes (the central building was intended not for the passengers, but for a dirigible ). The predecessors of the modern terminals were the structures erected for the air shows of the Edwardian era (for example, the Reims Air Meet in 1909). These buildings usually were L-shaped , with one wing dedicated to the planes and flight personnel, and

672-645: A leading coach-builder in the city. He tested it at Island Grounds at Madras , making it the first powered flight in Asia. Further display of flying was done by a set of aviators including Baron de Caters and Jules Tyck in February 1911. J. W. Madley, a water works engineer, flew an aircraft assembled by him over the Red Hills reservoir and shot a couple of aerial photographs in 1914. In 1915, Tata Air Mail started an airmail service between Karachi and Madras marking

784-745: A limited service of civilian commercial flights as well as official rescue/assistance flights. The Indian Air Force evacuated passengers from Chennai airport to the two military bases for onward journeys on Air Force transport aircraft to other domestic destinations. On 5 December, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation permitted a partial re-opening of the airport during daylight hours under visual meteorological conditions only, allowing airlines to ferry stranded aircraft without passengers or cargo on board. Operations under instrument meteorological conditions were not permitted and rescue and assistance flights, were permitted to operate in and out of

896-407: A long taxiway (B) and a shorter taxiway (R) parallel to primary runway 07/25 and parallel taxiway (N) oriented along the secondary runway 12/30. Two taxiways (P and Q) linked the two runways. Apart from the primary taxiways, other secondary taxiways interconnect the runways, main taxiways and parking aprons. In January 2018, the airport began cross-runway operations to reduce flight delays. In May 2023,

1008-430: A major modernisation project. The plan consisted of constructing two new terminals (Terminal 1 and 4), renovation of the existing international terminal (Terminal 3) along with the extension of the secondary runway , construction of new taxiways , parking bays and fire station . In 2018, construction of a new integrated terminal (Terminal 2) commenced, with the flight operations starting on 7 July 2023. Chennai Airport

1120-644: A new greenfield airport has been proposed. The airport is served by the Chennai International Airport Metro Station of the Chennai Metro and the Tirusulam railway station of the Chennai Suburban Railway . The aviation history of the city began in 1910, when a city-based Corsican hotelier Giacomo D'Angelis built a biplane powered by a with a small engine in association with Simpson's,

1232-567: A new airport is built, replacing the old one, leaving the city's new "major" airport (or the only remaining airport) code to no longer correspond with the city's name. The original airport in Nashville, Tennessee, was built in 1936 as part of the Works Progress Administration and called Berry Field with the designation, BNA. A new facility known as Nashville International Airport was built in 1987 but still uses BNA. This

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1344-498: A passenger building flanked by hangars into the corner of an airfield. This design influenced the Tempelhof, arguably the seminal design in the history or airports: the original Modernist terminal by Paul and Klaus Englers of 1926-1929 was placed into the center of the field, thus defied the need for expansion, and had to be replaced by the new building in the late 1930s (architect Ernst Sagebiel ). Hounslow (now Heathrow airport )

1456-402: A peak capacity of 40 million passengers. In 2012, a second airport for the city was planned on 5,000 acres (2,000 ha) land at Sriperumbudur with four-runways at an estimated cost of ₹ 35,000 million (US$ 420 million). The new airport would accommodate 40 million passengers annually. In September 2019, the state government shortlisted six other locations for the airport. In August 2022,

1568-495: A rapid exit taxi way was added 1,831 m (6,007 ft) from the threshold on the primary runway 07 and another taxi way linking the main apron. This reduced the runway occupancy time and helped with the plan to increase in flight handling capacity from 36 to 45 flights per hour. The airport occupies an area of 1,301 acres (526 ha) with the passenger terminals located in Tirusulam in Kanchipuram district . As of 2024,

1680-403: A river. The commissioning was delayed due to work on landing lights and VOR antenna. In February 2012, airport authorities announced that only about 2,160 m (7,090 ft) of the secondary runway would be operational due to displacements at both ends and the runway which was earlier used by only smaller aircraft, would be able to accommodate narrow body aircraft . The layout consists of

1792-501: A satellite terminal was London Gatwick Airport . It used an underground pedestrian tunnel to connect the satellite to the main terminal. Passengers are sometimes ferried to the satellite terminals by people movers , trains, or overhead bridges. The layout has the potential to cut the walking distances and was successfully applied in the Orlando International Airport and Tampa International Airport . However,

1904-490: A satellite terminal were planned to increase the terminal area to 160,000 m (1,700,000 sq ft) with a capacity of 35 million passengers, up from the existing capacity of 18 million. The satellite terminal near the secondary runway would be connected by a 1.5 km (0.93 mi) long tunnel to the main buildings at a cost of ₹ 7,000 million (US$ 84 million). With part of the integrated terminal opening in May 2023,

2016-496: A single large building, like the one at the Ford Dearborn Airport (1925–1926). Dedicated passenger building started to appear. In Europe, Le Bourget got new buildings in classical style arranged in very non-airport-like manner around a central garden in the early 1920s. The "air station" of Königsberg Devau (1922) was probably the first design resembling the modern ones: Hanns Hopp , a German architect, placed

2128-517: A single terminal building typically serves all of the functions of a terminal and a concourse. Larger airports might have one terminal that is connected to multiple concourses or multiple unit terminals . By the end of the 20th century airport terminals became symbols of progress and trade, showcasing the aspirations of nations constructing them. The buildings are also characterized by a very rapid pace of redevelopment, much higher that that for structures supporting other modes of transportation, eroding

2240-453: A terminal radar. As the airport controls one of the four flight information regions in the country, other radar systems in the region are integrated with the ATC at Chennai. The old parking lot at the airport accommodated 1,200 cars. In June 2018, a six-level car park with a capacity to accommodate 2,237 cars was planned in front of the airport on a 4.25-acre plot. Construction began in March 2019,

2352-509: Is GSN and its IATA code is SPN, and some coincide with IATA codes of non-U.S. airports. Canada's unusual codes—which bear little to no similarity with any conventional abbreviation to the city's name—such as YUL in Montréal , and YYZ in Toronto , originated from the two-letter codes used to identify weather reporting stations in the 1930s. The letters preceding the two-letter code follow

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2464-569: Is a lack of any provision for transfer flights, with passengers only able to transit landside. Hybrid layouts also exist. San Francisco International Airport and Melbourne Airport use a hybrid pier-semicircular layout and a pier layout for the rest. Chris Blow lists the following standard options of using multiple levels in the airport terminals: A common-use facility or terminal design disallows airlines to have its own proprietary check-in counters, gates and IT systems. Rather, check-in counters and gates can be flexibly reassigned as needed. This

2576-617: Is available. However, many railway administrations have their own list of codes for their stations, such as the list of Amtrak station codes . Airport codes arose out of the convenience that the practice brought pilots for location identification in the 1930s. Initially, pilots in the United States used the two-letter code from the National Weather Service (NWS) for identifying cities. This system became unmanageable for cities and towns without an NWS identifier, and

2688-523: Is different from the name in English, yet the airport code represents only the English name. Examples include: Due to scarcity of codes, some airports are given codes with letters not found in their names: The use of 'X' as a filler letter is a practice to create three-letter identifiers when more straightforward options were unavailable: Some airports in the United States retained their NWS ( National Weather Service ) codes and simply appended an X at

2800-443: Is equipped with a passenger flow monitoring system (PFMS) that helps in management of passenger operations. The new terminal is designed with the inspiration from Tamil culture , with the building's exterior inspired from Dravidian Architecture of Hindu temples and the roof inspired from pleats of sari worn by Bharatanatyam dancers. The flooring and the false ceiling feature Kolam patterns and colourful murals. The outside of

2912-463: Is equipped with advanced surface movement guidance and control system. An automated smart flight guidance system was installed in October 2011 at a cost of ₹ 420 million (US$ 5.0 million). The automated system combines information from tower control, approach control, area control and oceanic control electronically and improved reliability. There are two radars , a secondary surveillance radar and

3024-513: Is in conjunction to rules aimed to avoid confusion that seem to apply in the United States, which state that "the first and second letters or second and third letters of an identifier may not be duplicated with less than 200 nautical miles separation." Thus, Washington, D.C. area's three airports all have radically different codes: IAD for Washington–Dulles , DCA for Washington–Reagan (District of Columbia Airport), and BWI for Baltimore (Baltimore–Washington International, formerly BAL). Since HOU

3136-543: Is not followed outside the United States: In addition, since three letter codes starting with Q are widely used in radio communication, cities whose name begins with "Q" also had to find alternate codes, as in the case of: IATA codes should not be confused with the FAA identifiers of U.S. airports. Most FAA identifiers agree with the corresponding IATA codes, but some do not, such as Saipan , whose FAA identifier

3248-461: Is operated by AAI Cargo Logistics and Allied Services Company (AAICLAS), a subsidiary of AAI which functions as ground handling agency for airlines for handling or processing their cargo on ground and acts as custodian on behalf of customs import/export cargo under the customs act of 1962. The cargo complex consists of two divisions, namely, the export and the import wings. The export facility covers an area of 20,595 m (221,680 sq ft) and

3360-652: Is owned and operated by the Airports Authority of India and serves as the regional headquarters of the AAI for the southern region of India comprising the states of Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka , Kerala , Tamil Nadu , and Telangana , and the union territories of Lakshadweep , and Puducherry . It functions from the Air Traffic Control Complex within the airport. The airport is the centre of the southern flight information region (FIR), one of

3472-603: Is the home to the southern regional office of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), which is responsible for the security of flights. Security of the airport is provided by the Airport Sector (CISF) , that includes a dog squad for identification of narcotics and bomb disposal . In 2013, the Government of India proposed to offer a contract to a private operator to operate the airport and AAI invited bids for

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3584-405: Is the main opportunity within the airport for architects to express themselves and a key element of the airport design. Brian Edwards compares the architectural role of the terminal in the airport to the one of a mall within a small town. Historically, airports were built in a variety of architectural styles , with the selection depending on the country: The concrete boxes of terminals built in

3696-581: Is used at Boston Logan International Airport 's Terminal E. This table below lists the top airport terminals throughout the world with the largest amount of floor area, with usable floor space across multiple stories of at least 400,000 m (4,300,000 sq ft). Many small and mid-size airports have a single, two, or three-lane one-way loop road which is used by local private vehicles and buses to drop off and pick up passengers. A large hub airport often has two grade-separated one-way loop roads , one for departures and one for arrivals. It may have

3808-416: Is used for William P. Hobby Airport , the new Houston–Intercontinental became IAH. The code BKK was originally assigned to Bangkok–Don Mueang and was later transferred to Suvarnabhumi Airport , while the former adopted DMK. The code ISK was originally assigned to Gandhinagar Airport (Nashik's old airport) and later on transferred to Ozar Airport (Nashik's current airport). Shanghai–Hongqiao retained

3920-571: The Canadian transcontinental railroads were built, each station was assigned its own two-letter Morse code : When the Canadian government established airports, it used the existing railway codes for them as well. If the airport had a weather station, authorities added a "Y" to the front of the code, meaning "Yes" to indicate it had a weather station or some other letter to indicate it did not. When international codes were created in cooperation with

4032-540: The Indian Hotels Company and SATS (formerly known as Singapore Airport Terminal Services) provides in-flight catering at Chennai Airport. It also manages airport lounges. The Taj Madras Flight Kitchen, a joint-venture of the Indian Hotels, SATS and Malaysia Airlines started in 1994, operates restaurants at the airport. As a part of expansion plan unveiled in 2018, a new integrated terminal and

4144-482: The interwar period in the major transportation nodes (London, Paris, Berlin) were converted military airfields ( London Terminal Aerodrome , Croydon Aerodrome , Great West Aerodrome , Le Bourget , Tempelhof ) and lacked the spaces for the actual passengers. US, on the other hand, lacked the war infrastructure and had to build the airports from scratch, mostly following the "hangar-depot" building type where, staff, passengers, and airplanes were all accommodated inside

4256-404: The 1960s and 1970s generally gave way to glass boxes in the 1990s and 2000s, with the best terminals making a vague stab at incorporating ideas of "light" and "air"'. However, some, such as Baghdad International Airport and Denver International Airport, are monumental in stature, while others are considered architectural masterpieces, such as Terminal 1 at Charles de Gaulle Airport , near Paris ,

4368-454: The U.S. For example, several airports in Alaska have scheduled commercial service, such as Stebbins and Nanwalek , which use FAA codes instead of ICAO codes. Thus, neither system completely includes all airports with scheduled service. Some airports are identified in colloquial speech by their IATA code. Examples include LAX and JFK . Airport terminal An airport terminal is

4480-481: The United States, because "Y" was seldom used in the United States, Canada simply used the weather station codes for its airports, changing the "Y" to a "Z" if it conflicted with an airport code already in use. The result is that most major Canadian airport codes start with "Y" followed by two letters in the city's name (for example, YOW for O tta w a , YWG for W innipe g , YYC for C algar y , or YVR for V ancouve r ), whereas other Canadian airports append

4592-474: The airfield. For example, Air France checked in passengers at the Invalides Air Terminal ( Aérogare des Invalides ) from 1946 to 1961, when all passengers started checking in at the airport. The Air Terminal continued in service as the boarding point for airline buses until 2016. Chicago's O'Hare International Airport 's innovative design pioneered concepts such as direct highway access to

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4704-504: The airport consists of three operational passenger terminals with Terminals 1 and 4 catering to domestic traffic and Terminal 2 handling international traffic. The new domestic terminal (Terminal 1) handles most domestic traffic and post the inauguration of the new integrated terminal (Terminal 2) in July 2023, international traffic moved to the new terminal and Terminal 4 was used to augment domestic traffic from November 2023. The power supply to

4816-849: The airport from 6 December. [REDACTED] Media related to Chennai International Airport at Wikimedia Commons IATA airport code The assignment of these codes is governed by IATA Resolution 763, and it is administered by the IATA's headquarters in Montreal , Canada. The codes are published semi-annually in the IATA Airline Coding Directory. IATA provides codes for airport handling entities, and for certain railway stations. Alphabetical lists of airports sorted by IATA code are available. A list of railway station codes , shared in agreements between airlines and rail lines such as Amtrak , SNCF , and Deutsche Bahn ,

4928-410: The airport handled over 21 million passengers and 0.34 million tonnes of cargo. The airport offers connecting passenger flights to all six inhabited continents, and direct flights to three of them. As of 2024, the airport has three operating passenger terminals with terminals 1 and 4 handling domestic traffic and terminal 2 handling international operations respectively. Expansion of terminal 2 replacing

5040-399: The airport is provided by Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) through a 11,000 kV sub-station. The domestic terminals (Terminal 1 and 4) have three levels with the departure area on the top level with an elevated corridor, which has approach and exit ramps. The arrivals section is on the ground level, which also serves as the base for airlines and other offices with

5152-440: The airport itself instead of the city it serves, while another code is reserved which refers to the city itself which can be used to search for flights to any of its airports. For instance: Or using a code for the city in one of the major airports and then assigning another code to another airport: When different cities with the same name each have an airport, they need to be assigned different codes. Examples include: Sometimes,

5264-426: The airport terminal." The first airfields, built in the early 20th century, did not have passengers and thus did not need the terminals. Large facilities were built, however, to house the fragile and inventive airships of the time protecting them from elements and industrial spies . Still, some of the concept architectural designs resembled the modern terminal buildings: Erich Mendelsohn ’s sketch (1914) contained

5376-426: The airport's Phase-II of modernisation, in 2020. It was ranked in the eighth place among the most punctual airports in the world, globally, by ensuring timely takeoffs and landings to and from the airport, in 2021 by Cirium , an aviation data analytics company. In December 2015, unprecedented rainfall associated with India's North-east monsoon caused extensive flooding of the airport tarmac and runways. The airport

5488-418: The airport's former name, such as Orlando International Airport 's MCO (for Mc C o y Air Force Base), or Chicago's O'Hare International Airport , which is coded ORD for its original name: Or char d Field. In rare cases, the code comes from the airport's unofficial name, such as Kahului Airport 's OGG (for local aviation pioneer Jimmy H ogg ). In large metropolitan areas, airport codes are often named after

5600-467: The airport, concourses, and jetbridges ; these designs are now seen at most airports worldwide. When London Stansted Airport's new terminal opened in 1991, it marked a shift in airport terminal design since Norman Foster placed the baggage handling system in the basement in order to create a vast open interior space. Airport architects have followed this model since unobstructed sightlines aid with passenger orientation. In some cases, architects design

5712-558: The airport. The airport has 90 parking bays including 18 in-contact bays connected to the passenger terminals. The main apron (A) located to the south of the primary runway and the parallel taxiway B accommodates 33 parking bays including 11 parking bays that can accommodate wide body aircraft . Two aprons (Aprons II and III) are located between the two runways. Apron II can park 36 narrow-body aircraft and Apron III can accommodate 12 wide-body aircraft including one parking bay that can park an Airbus A380 . A remote apron (Apron I) located to

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5824-465: The arrangement is prone to slowing down the embarkation and disembarkation as well as accidental damage to the planes. A particularly unusual design was employed at Berlin Tegel Airport 's Terminal A. Consisting of an hexagonal-shaped ring around a courtyard, five of the outer walls were airside and fitted with jet bridges, while the sixth (forming the entrance), along with the inner courtyard,

5936-416: The basement used for luggage handling. Terminal 1 covers 67,700 m (729,000 sq ft), has seven gates, 52 check-in counters, and eight counters for e-ticketing and can handle 16 million passengers per annum. Terminal 4 which was originally built to handle international operations, covers an area of 59,300 m (638,000 sq ft) and is capable of handling 7 million passengers per annum. Both

6048-495: The beginning of civil aviation in South India. In March 1930, a discussion initiated by pilot G. Vlasto led to the founding of Madras Flying Club . Commissioned in 1930, Madras aerodrome was one of the first airports of India. On 15 October 1932, J. R. D. Tata flew a Puss Moth aircraft carrying air mail from Karachi to Bombay 's Juhu Airstrip and the flight continued to Madras piloted by aviator Nevill Vintcent marking

6160-590: The boundary between the permanent and temporary construction. An airport might have multiple separate "unit terminals", in order, for example to separate the international travel from the domestic one, or provide the separate airlines with the ability to offer their own terminals. The unit terminals might use similar design ( Dallas-Fort Worth Airport ) or be completely different ( Pearson International Airport ). Use of multiple terminals typically requires an extensive network of automatic people movers . Terminals perform three main functions: Just like entire airports,

6272-402: The building beyond the scope of the original needs. The original Le Bourget design was corrected by Georges Labro  [ fr ] in 1936–1937, with the new Modernist single-terminal layout following ideas of not-yet-unfinished Tempelhof (but without covered access to the planes) and Croydon. New York's LaGuardia Airport ( Delano and Aldrich , 1939) contained many features common in

6384-596: The check-in counter to the gate (up to half a mile in the cases of Kansai International Airport or Lisbon Portela Airport 's Terminal 1). Most large international airports have piers, O'Hare Airport in Chicago and Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta were able to process 45 million passengers per year using this layout in the 1970s. Remote pier layout consist of multiple concourses that are connected by automatic people movers located underground or overhead. Once arrived on

6496-502: The code SHA, while the newer Shanghai–Pudong adopted PVG. The opposite was true for Berlin : the airport Berlin–Tegel used the code TXL, while its smaller counterpart Berlin–Schönefeld used SXF; the Berlin Brandenburg Airport has the airport code BER, which is also part of its branding. The airports of Hamburg (HAM) and Hannover (HAJ) are less than 100 nautical miles (190 km) apart and therefore share

6608-523: The concourse, passengers get on the planes as usual. This layout, after its first appearance at Hartsfield, was used at Stansted Airport in UK and, with an adequate people-moving system, is considered to be very efficient for the airport hubs with high percentage of transfer passengers. A satellite terminal is a round- or star-shaped building detached from other airport buildings, so that aircraft can park around its entire circumference. The first airport to use

6720-413: The convex side and cars on the other. This design still requires long walks for connecting passengers, but greatly reduces travel times between check-in and the aircraft. A pier design uses a small, narrow building with aircraft parked on both sides. One end connects to a ticketing and baggage claim area. Piers offer high aircraft capacity and simplicity of design, but often result in a long distance from

6832-475: The courtyard on the same level, where short-stay parking and taxi-pickup were located. Vehicles could enter and exit via a road underpass underneath the terminal building entrance. For flights using jet-bridges and passengers arriving or leaving by private transport, this resulted in extremely short walking distances of just a few tens of metres between vehicles and the plane, with only a slightly longer walk for public transport connections. A downside of this design

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6944-503: The east of the secondary runway can accommodate a further eight narrow body jets. A smaller apron (T) located towards the east end of the secondary runway has three parking bays. An apron (B) located to the east of the air cargo complex caters to cargo operations has 10 parking bays with three of them accommodating wide body aircraft. The Air traffic control tower is located at the Air Traffic Services Complex and

7056-934: The end. Examples include: A lot of minor airfields without scheduled passenger traffic have ICAO codes but not IATA codes, since the four letter codes allow more number of codes, and IATA codes are mainly used for passenger services such as tickets, and ICAO codes by pilots. In the US, such airfields use FAA codes instead of ICAO. There are airports with scheduled service for which there are ICAO codes but not IATA codes, such as Nkhotakota Airport/Tangole Airport in Malawi or Chōfu Airport in Tokyo, Japan. There are also several minor airports in Russia (e.g., Omsukchan Airport ) which lack IATA codes and instead use internal Russian codes for booking. Flights to these airports cannot be booked through

7168-472: The entrance/exit of each jet bridge lied at the boundary of the two areas. Two or three passport control booths were located close to the end of the jet bridge for arriving passengers (causing passengers to queue into the bridge and plane itself) and passengers left the arrivals area unsegregated from departing passengers into the same landside ring-concourse, emerging next to the check-in desks. This allowed both arriving and departing passengers immediate access to

7280-417: The excessive area of airport apron required and difficult remodeling for new aircraft designs had reduced its popularity. Los Angeles International Airport , in particular, switched from satellite terminals to pier layout in the 1980s. Idea of a large airport using specially build vehicles to connect the passengers to the planes was driven by the desire to reduce time spent by the planes getting to and from

7392-420: The expansion of the existing terminal by 60,000 m (650,000 sq ft), replacing the existing Terminal 3. The complete new terminal building will be spread over 197,000 m (2,120,000 sq ft) and will have a handling capacity of 10 million passengers when completed. The terminal has 100 check-in counters, 11 automated tray retrieval systems, six self-bag drops and six baggage reclaim belts. It

7504-520: The first plane hijacking occurred in the 1931 (in Peru ). The 1960s brought the waves of terrorism and the tight security based on the ICAO recommendations. By the 1990s both passengers and luggage were routinely screened for weapons and explosive devices. The old floorplans of terminals were frequently inadequate (and structures not strong enough to carry the weight of the new equipment), so extensive redesign

7616-551: The first scheduled flight to land at the airport. Although the first aircraft landed in Madras airport in 1932 and commercial services were in operation, the airport was confined mostly to military operations during World War II , when it became the base of Royal Indian Air Force . In 1952, the Civil Aviation Department took over the operations of the airport. The first passenger terminal was built in 1954 on

7728-557: The first three letters of the city in which it is located, for instance: The code may also be a combination of the letters in its name, such as: Sometimes the airport code reflects pronunciation, rather than spelling, namely: For many reasons, some airport codes do not fit the normal scheme described above. Some airports, for example, cross several municipalities or regions, and therefore, use codes derived from some of their letters, resulting in: Other airports—particularly those serving cities with multiple airports—have codes derived from

7840-478: The following format: Most large airports in Canada have codes that begin with the letter "Y", although not all "Y" codes are Canadian (for example, YUM for Yuma, Arizona , and YNT for Yantai , China), and not all Canadian airports start with the letter "Y" (for example, ZBF for Bathurst, New Brunswick ). Many Canadian airports have a code that starts with W, X or Z, but none of these are major airports. When

7952-597: The form of " YYZ ", a song by the rock band Rush , which utilizes the Morse code signal as a musical motif. Some airports have started using their IATA codes as brand names , such as Calgary International Airport (YYC) and Vancouver International Airport (YVR). Numerous New Zealand airports use codes that contain the letter Z, to distinguish them from similar airport names in other countries. Examples include HLZ for Hamilton , ZQN for Queenstown , and WSZ for Westport . Predominantly, airport codes are named after

8064-712: The four FIRs that the Indian air space is divided into and is responsible for the air traffic services over the Chennai FIR consisting of five southern states and two southern union territories and the oceanic air space of the southern part of the Bay of Bengal and the eastern part of the Arabian Sea . The immigration services at the airport are handled by the Bureau of Immigration of the Ministry of Home Affairs . The airport

8176-467: The gate of the flight they serve. Checked-in passengers then entered airside via a short passage situated immediately to the side of the check-in desk, passed (for non-Schengen flights) a single passport control booth (with officers sat in the same area as check-in staff), followed by a single security lane which terminated at the gate's waiting area behind. Pairs of gates shared the same seating area, with small kiosks for duty-free and refreshments making up

8288-585: The import facility is spread across 20,096 m (216,310 sq ft) of area. The cargo complex is equipped with Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) for efficient storage and easy retrieval of cargo and operates fully mechanised Elevated Transfer Vehicles (ETV) for faster and easier cargo loading and unloading. The complex also has temperature-controlled cold storage for perishable cargo, and secured storage rooms for high value cargo. Limitations in terms of number of flights that can be handled and congestion are concerns with respect to cargo operations at

8400-487: The international air booking systems or have international luggage transferred there, and thus, they are booked instead through the airline or a domestic booking system. Several heliports in Greenland have 3-letter codes used internally which might be IATA codes for airports in faraway countries. There are several airports with scheduled service that have not been assigned ICAO codes that do have IATA codes, especially in

8512-594: The lack of separation between the boarding and deplaning passengers). The movable covered ways (precursors of the modern jet bridges ) were experimented with in the 1930s. The Boeing 's United Airport in Burbank, California featured retractable canopies already in the 1930. The tubes first appeared in the 1936 terminal at the London South Airport . The circular terminal design included six telescopic rectangular in section tubes for passengers, moving over

8624-817: The main terminal at Washington Dulles in Virginia , or the TWA Flight Center at New York's JFK Airport. A few are designed to reflect the culture of a particular area, some examples being the terminal at Albuquerque International Sunport in New Mexico , which is designed in the Pueblo Revival style popularized by architect John Gaw Meem , as well as the terminal at Bahías de Huatulco International Airport in Huatulco , Oaxaca , Mexico, which features some palapas that are interconnected to form

8736-482: The metro station and the terminals are provided for the passengers. The concourse of the metro station is directly linked to the passenger terminals. The Tirusulam suburban train station is also integrated with the metro station and the airport. The airport was ranked in the third place as the Best Airport by Size in the category of 15–25 million passengers per annum by Airports Council International in 2017. It

8848-432: The modern designs: two-level layout for separation between departing and arriving passengers, "spine" concourse extending to the both sides of the building, "dispatcher booths" as precursors to the airport gates . Tempelhof faced a contemporary critique for its cantilevered roofs intended to protect the planes and passengers − but wasteful in terms of construction and limiting the future aircraft designs (in addition to

8960-612: The name of the airport itself, for instance: This is also true with some cities with a single airport (even if there is more than one airport in the metropolitan area of said city), such as BDL for Hartford, Connecticut 's B ra dl ey International Airport or Baltimore's BWI, for B altimore/ W ashington I nternational Airport ; however, the latter also serves Washington, D.C. , alongside Dulles International Airport (IAD, for I nternational A irport D ulles) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA, for D istrict of C olumbia A irport). The code also sometimes comes from

9072-418: The new domestic terminal built at Tirusulam . An international terminal was added in 1989 and the old terminal building was used for air cargo. In November 1988, British Airways inaugurated scheduled services to London 's Heathrow Airport commencing services to Europe with the airline flying nonstop with Boeing 747s from April 1991. On 23 September 1999, a handling centre for flowers, fruits and vegetables

9184-415: The northeastern side of Meenambakkam , and the airport operated as a customs airport with limited international services. In 1972, the airport came under the purview Airports Authority of India (AAI). An Air cargo complex was commissioned on 1 February 1978, which was the second gateway air cargo terminal in the country after the one at Kolkata airport . In 1985, the passenger operations were shifted to

9296-422: The old terminal 3 is planned to be demolished to extend the new integrated terminal (Terminal 2). In January 2024, AAI also announced plans to construct 11 new rapid taxi-ways to improve aircraft handling. There are plans to construct a new ATC complex and an integrated cargo handling terminal to increase the capacity to 0.3 million tonnes per annum. The existing airport is expected to reach saturation by 2035, with

9408-435: The older terminal 3 and a new satellite terminal, are under construction. There is a dedicated air cargo complex operating out of the old passenger terminal at Meenambakkam . There are two asphalt runways. The airport serves as a hub for Blue Dart Aviation , a focus city for Air India , and an operating base for IndiGo . The airport is expected to reach saturation by 2035, with a peak capacity of 40 million passengers, and

9520-416: The one they are located in: Other airport codes are of obscure origin, and each has its own peculiarities: In Asia, codes that do not correspond with their city's names include Niigata 's KIJ , Nanchang 's KHN and Pyongyang 's FNJ . EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg , which serves three countries, has three airport codes: BSL, MLH, EAP. Some cities have a name in their respective language which

9632-405: The only airside commercial offerings. Thus, other than the adjacent gate, passengers could not move around the terminal airside and there was no central waiting lounge and retail area for departures. Individual rooms for arrivals, likewise serving a pair of gates, each contained a single baggage carousel and were alternately situated in between each pair of departure gates on the same level, such that

9744-512: The other intended for the spectators, with a grandstand and restaurants in an arrangement similar to the one used for the racetracks . The shows also featured occasional passenger flights. The other template of a terminal was provided by the first airline, the German DELAG that featured sheds for Zeppelins combined with passenger spaces close to the centers of cities, like the railroad stations. The first European passenger airports of

9856-754: The rails. The terminal at London South (now known as Gatwick Airport ) also featured the first direct rail link connection (to the London Victoria Station ). The rail ticket was included with the airfare . The system for early separation of departing passengers from their luggage (check-in desk) was introduced in the Speke Airport in Liverpool (1937–1938). It remains a key element of design of most passenger terminals ever since. Some airlines checked in their passengers at downtown terminals, and had their own transportation facilities to

9968-506: The same first and middle letters, indicating that this rule might be followed only in Germany. Many cities retain historical names in their airport codes, even after having undergone an official name/spelling/transliteration change: Some airport codes are based on previous names associated with a present airport, often with a military heritage. These include: Some airports are named for an administrative division or nearby city, rather than

10080-508: The same. The plan did not materialise due to protest by airport employees against the move fearing job losses. The airport has two runways – the 3,661 m (12,011 ft) long primary runway 07/25 (Northeast – Southwest orientation) and the 2,890 m (9,480 ft) long secondary runway 12/30 (Northwest – Southeast orientation). The runways are equipped with CAT-I Instrument Landing System (ILS) for IFR approach with Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) landing aids. An upgraded ILS

10192-505: The southern regional headquarters of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for South India comprising the states of Andhra Pradesh , Karnataka , Kerala , Tamil Nadu, Telangana , and the union territories of Lakshadweep , and Puducherry . The airport is the fifth-busiest airport by passenger traffic and aircraft movements, and fourth busiest by cargo handled in India and international traffic. In financial year 2023–24,

10304-561: The state government selected Parandur in Kanchipuram district as location for the new greenfield airport. The new greenfield airport would come up on 4,970 acres (2,010 ha) of land. The airport is situated on the Grand Southern Trunk Road (National Highway 32) with a flyover at the entrance of the airport separating traffic. Public bus transport is handled by Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) of

10416-458: The state-run Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC). The airport is served by several taxi and rental car companies. In addition, ride-sharing companies Ola Cabs and Uber operate outside the terminal. The airport is served by Tirusulam railway station on the Suburban railway network . The airport metro station of the Chennai Metro connects the airport. Shuttle services between

10528-500: The station code of Malton, Mississauga , where it is located). YUL is used for Montréal–Trudeau (UL was the ID code for the beacon in the city of Kirkland , now the location of Montréal–Trudeau). While these codes make it difficult for the public to associate them with a particular Canadian city, some codes have become popular in usage despite their cryptic nature, particularly at the largest airports. Toronto's code has entered pop culture in

10640-433: The terminal architecture. The functions that are performed on the landside, like ticketing and check-in, are relatively stable, while the airside is subject to rapid technological and operational changes. Victor Marquez suggests that the boundary is not really an integral part of the airport functions, but a "socio-technical construct" that has gradually shaped the thinking of architects and planners. The passenger terminal

10752-570: The terminal dates to 1960s. The bodies of the so-called mobile lounges can be raised to match the height of the terminal and airplane exit doors (much earlier designs used regular apron buses , for example, in the Milan's Linate Airport , but the passengers in this case had to climb up and down the airstairs ). While used in the Washington Dulles International Airport and King Abdulaziz International Airport ,

10864-482: The terminal features a 1,730-kilogram Nachiarkoil lamp . The Air Cargo complex at the airport was established in 1978, with regulatory and facilitating agencies brought under one roof for faster processing/clearance of international cargo from the southern region. Following the construction of new passenger terminals at Tirusulam, the old passenger terminal at Meenambakkam serves as the air cargo complex. The Air cargo complex spread over an area of 19.6 acres (7.9 ha)

10976-404: The terminal's ceiling and flooring with cues that suggest the required directional flow. For instance, at Toronto Pearson's Terminal 1 Moshe Safdie included skylights for wayfinding purposes. Originally, the airport terminals were secured the same way as the rail stations, with local police guarding against the common crimes, like pickpocketing. The industry-specific crimes were rare, although

11088-410: The terminals are divided into landside and airside zones. Typically passengers and staff must be checked by airport security , and/or customs / border control before being permitted to enter the airside zone. Conversely, passengers arriving from an international flight must pass through border control and customs to access the landside area. The landside-airside boundary became the defining element of

11200-432: The terminals are equipped with an in-line baggage handling system and security screening system with four departure conveyors of a length of 3,500 m (11,500 ft) and can handle 1,200 baggage pieces per hour. The terminals are designed with two sustainable gardens with wing-like roofs and glass facades. Rainwater is harvested and used to sustain the gardens. There is 9,000 m (97,000 sq ft) of space at

11312-442: The terminals switch to the "linear" layout, where the planes are located next to an elongated building and passengers use jet bridges to walk on board. The design places limit on the number of gates, as the walkability requirement dictates the total length of the building (including the "spine" concourses) to be less than 1 ⁄ 2 mile. Some airports use a linear structure bent into a semicircular shape, with aircraft parked on

11424-546: The terminals, consisting of duty-free retail shops, restaurants, snack bars, and executive lounges. There have been more than 65 incidents of false ceiling collapses and breakage of glass windows reported from the terminals over the years. The new integrated terminal (Terminal 2) was planned to replace the older Terminals 2 and 3 which were situated between the Terminals 1 and 4. Part of the terminal commenced operations on 7 July 2023. The second phase of construction will involve

11536-515: The two-letter code of the radio beacons that were the closest to the actual airport, such as YQX in Gander or YXS in Prince George . Four of the ten provincial capital airports in Canada have ended up with codes beginning with YY, including: Canada's largest airport is YYZ for Toronto Pearson (as YTZ was already allocated to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport , the airport was given

11648-529: The use of two letters allowed only a few hundred combinations; a three-letter system of airport codes was implemented. This system allowed for 17,576 permutations, assuming all letters can be used in conjunction with each other. Since the U.S. Navy reserved "N" codes, and to prevent confusion with Federal Communications Commission broadcast call signs , which begin with "W" or "K", the airports of certain U.S. cities whose name begins with one of these letters had to adopt "irregular" airport codes: This practice

11760-680: Was awarded as the Best Tourist Friendly Airport by Tamil Nadu Tourism from the Ministry of Tourism two consecutive times, in 2016 and 2018. It was awarded the Gold Award by the survey of RoSPA Health and Safety Awards for ensuring proper hygienic conditions and safety from accidents and incidents, as well as the Sword of Honour by the British Safety Council for ensuring safety and security, both for

11872-484: Was closed for a week to all traffic from 1 to 6 December. About 1,500 passengers and 2,000 airport workers were evacuated as water entered terminal buildings and 30–35 aircraft were stranded on the apron. Military authorities permitted the use of Naval Air Station INS Rajali in Arakkonam , 70 km (43 mi) west of central Chennai and Tambaram Air Force Station 20 km (12 mi) south as relief airports for

11984-464: Was commissioned at the air cargo terminal. In 2001, the airport received ISO 9001-2000 certification, becoming the first international airport in the country to obtain the same. A new international departure terminal was commissioned in 2003. In May 2005, Delta Air Lines commenced the first direct flights to the Americas connecting Chennai with New York City via Paris . In 2008, the AAI started

12096-456: Was completed in December 2021 and opened in 2022. In addition, a 250,000 sq ft (23,000 m) mall named Aerohub was built. The mall has a 238,100 sq ft (22,120 m) cinema multiplex and a 35,678 sq ft (3,314.6 m) 59-key transit hotel facility. In 2008, a 6,503 m (70,000 sq ft) maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) hangar was established at

12208-525: Was installed on runway 07/25 in 2017. As the airport is not equipped with a CAT-III landing system, which will enable operations in poor visibility conditions, disruptions in flight operations happen in poor weather conditions. In 2012, AAI acquired additional land to install new landing lights and upgrade the ILS. The secondary runway (12/30) was closed in 2009 to extend it over the Adyar River by means of

12320-518: Was landside. Although superficially resembling a satellite design insofar as aircraft could park around most of the structure, it was in fact a self-contained terminal which unlike a satellite did not depend on remote buildings for facilities such as check-in, security controls, arrivals etc. Especially unique were its exceptionally short walking distances and lack of any central area for security, passport control, arrivals or transfer. Instead, individual check-in counters are located immediately in front of

12432-550: Was processing the passengers through a reused aircraft hangar, and a new classical terminal was built in Croydon in 1928. In the US, by 1931 the first airport in Chicago (now Midway Airport ) had its own Art Deco terminal building. Sagebiel's Tempelhof had an appearance of a major railway terminus and housed, like many other European airports, great restaurants. The design survived for more than 60 years, highly unusual for an airport due to Sagebiel being prescient and oversizing

12544-618: Was required. Passenger garages integrated into the terminals were moved out to reduce the potential effects of the car bombs . Time spent by passengers at the airports greatly increased, causing the need for additional space. Early airport terminals opened directly onto the tarmac : passengers would simply walk to their aircraft, a so-called " open apron " layout. This simple design is still common among smaller airports. For larger airports, like Kansas City International Airport , Munich Airport and Charles de Gaulle Airport , allowing many passenger to walk across tarmac becomes unfeasible, so

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