In recent developments at Chennai Airport, several airlines have made strategic changes affecting both domestic and international routes. Notably, Air France has decided to suspend operations for the summer schedule, despite favorable load factors. Concurrently, Lufthansa has opted to reduce its frequency to five times, resulting in Hyderabad surpassing Chennai in European seat capacity for the first time.
Moreover, Chennai Airport’s prospects for flights to Vietnam seem dim, as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has replaced Chennai and Kolkata airports with Hyderabad and Bengaluru as the designated Points of Call (POC). This shift in designation may impact the airport’s connectivity to certain destinations.
The aviation landscape at Chennai Airport continues to witness alterations, with Akasa Air announcing the suspension of its lone Mumbai flights. SpiceJet, too, is set to halt operations on routes to Hyderabad, Delhi, Pune, and Colombo in the near future. IndiGo has followed suit by discontinuing flights to Muscat, and the airline has not introduced any new destinations from Chennai.
Infrastructure challenges compound the issues, as the demolition of the old international terminal, originally slated for completion by January’s end, remains unfinished. Chennai also stands out with the lowest flight frequency to Delhi among major cities, trailing even behind Pune and Ahmedabad.
Despite the evolving dynamics of the aviation industry, there has been a noticeable lack of expansion initiatives by airlines at Chennai Airport. The cargo sector faces a concerning trend, with declining traffic over the years, in contrast to other airports experiencing growth.
Further exacerbating the situation is the insufficient number of aerobridges for international flights, with only four available. During peak hours, large wide-body planes are forced to park elsewhere, leading to the utilization of buses for passenger transit. These multifaceted challenges underscore the need for comprehensive measures to address the issues facing Chennai Airport and restore its competitiveness in the aviation sector.
Not many would have noticed but what’s happening with Chennai Airport??🙁
🔸Air France suspends operations for summer schedule (even though loads has been very good)
🔸Lufthansa reduces frequency to 5x (With this Hyderabad now has more seats to Europe for the 1st time ever)…— Chennai Updates (@UpdatesChennai) February 6, 2024
Many on social media pointed out that the it becomes the responsibility of the state government to compete with other states and impress the Centre for better connectivity and infrastructure facilities.
This is what happens when people elect State Governments without any long term vision. Both the present DMK Govt and its predecessor AIADMK Government cannot think beyond lining their pockets. It is the State Government that needs to lobby with the Centre for more connectivity… https://t.co/YMueeOjrVc
— Sumanth Raman (@sumanthraman) February 6, 2024
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