The opening of the Chennai airport’s second cab pick-up point has been delayed further.

The pick-up point, scheduled to come up in a plaza opposite the T1 domestic terminal, is now likely to open by July-end.

M. Raja Kishore, Airport Director, Chennai airport, said the opening of the plaza is in final stages and may open by the next month-end. Of all the public grievances received, nearly 70-80 per cent of them are about the opening of the plaza, and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) was aware of it, he said.

“The project has some legal issues. We have to be careful since the decision depends on contract management. To protect the interest of the public, we are cautiously doing it. The plaza is very much required for Chennai airport,” he added.

Mr. Kishore said that before the opening of the plaza, there is a need for a trial run for the free flow of traffic. A study is also being taken up.

The work on the plaza started in 2023. It should have opened in October 2024, but the facility encountered multiple delays. “The arbitration proceedings and legal complications led to the delays. But after studying the issues, we can take a decision on the opening,” he said.

‘Unforeseen delays’

Asked if such issues weren’t anticipated in advance since the facility has been lying unused for six months now, Mr. Kishore said sometimes unforeseen delays can occur. “This can be due to environmental conditions, clearances, objections by various agencies because airports are highly secure and safe zones,” he said. Mr. Kishore said work at the airport’s T3 international terminal had progressed 45% and it would be completed by December this year. He noted that the war in West Asia also, in a way, contributed to the delay.

“Mobilisation of materials was a huge issue [due to the war]. Most of the structural work has been completed and most of the bottlenecks have been resolved,” he said. It was difficult to do the foundation since the contractor encountered hard rock and they had to carry out controlled blasting for a limited period at night.

Stray dog presence

On the issue of stray dogs on the airport premises, Mr. Kishore said they had sterilised all 25 of them, and had left them 25 km away from the airport, but they all returned to the airport the next day.

He also said that work is under way for constructing rapid exit taxiways and increasing the number of aerobridges. He said the present airport is likely to be saturated in nine years.

On June 15, AAI has planned events as part of ‘Yatri Suvidha Diwas’ to welcome passengers, and selfie booths will also be set up. Mr. Kishore added that AAI will take feedback from passengers.