The Josephv Vijay TVK government on Monday, 24 August 2026, announced that it would abandon the proposed greenfield airport project at Parandur and identify an alternative location for Chennai’s second airport, citing concerns over the impact on farmers, agricultural land, waterbodies and residential settlements, as reported in The Hindu.
“Chief Minister Joseph Vijay announces that the TVK government will abandon the plans to set up a new airport in Parandur pic.twitter.com/mt55zByEii
— Vignesh Theni (@Vignesh_twitz) August 24, 2026
Making a suo motu statement in the Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay said the government had decided to drop the Parandur project following concerns raised by residents of the surrounding villages and would now conduct technical and feasibility assessments at alternative locations.
“As promised, the measures initiated to establish the new airport at Parandur will be abandoned by this government,” Vijay told the Assembly.
The Chief Minister said Chennai continued to require a second airport because of the rapid expansion of the metropolitan region, rising passenger traffic and growing demand for cargo transportation. However, he maintained that the project should not come at the cost of farmers’ livelihoods or involve large-scale displacement of residents.
Vijay said the government had arrived at the decision after consultations with senior officials, aviation experts, academicians and other specialists. Alternative sites will now be examined before a location is finalised for the proposed airport.
The Chief Minister also recalled his earlier opposition to the Parandur project. He said he had visited Ekanapuram and neighbouring villages on 20 January 2025 and interacted with residents protesting against land acquisition for the airport. He also pointed to his public opposition to the project during a meeting at Vikravandi in October 2024.
While scrapping Parandur, the government said it would pursue an interim expansion of the existing Chennai airport at Meenambakkam in collaboration with the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
A new Terminal 5 is proposed in the north-western section of the airport. The expansion will also include an approach road and a flyover to improve connectivity to the additional terminal.
According to the Chief Minister, the ongoing construction of Terminal 3 is expected to raise the airport’s annual passenger-handling capacity from around 30 million to approximately 35 million. Terminal 5 is expected to add another 20 million passengers, taking the combined capacity of the airport to around 55 million passengers annually.
The expansion is intended to help Chennai cope with increasing aviation demand until a second airport is established at an alternative location.
Vijay said his government remained committed to strengthening Chennai’s aviation infrastructure and supporting industrial development but insisted that future airport planning would have to balance economic requirements with the interests of affected communities.
The announcement, however, triggered a confrontation between the ruling benches and the Opposition in the Assembly.
Former Finance Minister and DMK member Thangam Thennarasu sought to respond to the Chief Minister’s statement. He clarified that he was seeking only a clarification and was not asking for a debate on the announcement.
Speaker JCD Prabhakar, however, said that a statement made under Rule 110 could not be taken up for debate. The Speaker stood by the decision despite the Opposition’s request.
With the Speaker refusing to allow Thennarasu to intervene, DMK members walked out of the Assembly in protest.
Death Knell For TN’s Development
The Parandur airport was not merely another infrastructure project; it was conceived as a critical piece of Tamil Nadu’s long-term economic infrastructure. Chennai’s existing Meenambakkam airport faces land and operational constraints, limiting its ability to accommodate the city’s future passenger and cargo growth. The proposed greenfield airport was intended to provide the additional capacity needed to expand Chennai as an aviation and logistics hub, improve international connectivity and support the industrial ecosystem around the state’s manufacturing belt.
Airports also act as economic multipliers, attracting industries, logistics operators, tourism, cargo businesses and allied services while creating employment and improving access to global markets. The Airports Authority of India had selected Parandur after evaluating alternative locations, with factors including land availability, connectivity and future expansion potential taken into account. With neighbouring states such as Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka actively expanding their aviation infrastructure, abandoning Parandur without a ready replacement, risks giving competing cities the connectivity and investment advantage Chennai was supposed to secure.
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