Chennai: The drop in Chennai airport’s aviation rankings in the country has been gradual but steady, thanks to poor passenger amenities, runway saturation and airlines increasingly suspending operations. Once the third-busiest airport after Mumbai and Delhi, it slipped behind Bengaluru and Hyderabad in recent years. Now, the Airports Authority of India (AAI)-run airport is in danger of losing its fifth spot as Kolkata closes in.AAI traffic statistics for May 2026 show Kolkata handled 1.87 million passengers, trailing Chennai by 34,000. In aircraft movements, Kolkata recorded 12,080, just 945 fewer than Chennai. Though Chennai regained the fifth spot from Kolkata in May after briefly slipping to sixth in April, the lead is thin. Kolkata is steadily catching up, driven by strong growth in domestic traffic. While Chennai’s domestic passenger numbers fell 6.2% from 14.85 lakh in May last year to 13.93 lakh this year, Kolkata’s rose 4% from 15.96 lakh to 16.59 lakh.Meanwhile, Hyderabad has widened the gap over Chennai, handling 2.55 million passengers against Chennai’s 1.90 million during the month. In aircraft movements too, Hyderabad recorded 17,306 flights, comfortably ahead of Chennai’s 13,025. Hyderabad handled more than 2.13 million domestic passengers in May, compared with Chennai’s 1.39 million, underscoring the widening difference between the two southern metros.Mohan Chandramouli, a retired airline professional, attributed this trend to airlines suspending their operations from Chennai airport. “Air India has stopped its flights on certain key international and domestic routes after the West Asian crisis. Similarly, SpiceJet has suspended its operations, but no new airlines have come,” he said.K Jayaraman, a businessman and frequent flyer, said that poor passenger amenities and saturated flight handling were other reasons for the dwindling footfall of both domestic and international passengers. “We need another airport soon since Chennai airport, with two runways crossing each other, cannot handle more flights anymore. But there is no sign of it in the near future as the state govt has shut the door on Parandur,” he said.Chennai airport authorities, however, said the airport’s operational efficiency would improve if the ongoing taxiway and integrated terminal works are completed.
