Mu. Veerapandian, the state secretary of the Communist Party of India, has urged that the attempt to privatize Chennai Airport should be abandoned.
In this regard, in a statement issued on Saturday,
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s letter to the Prime Minister, requesting that another operator be appointed in place of the Airports Authority of India, which is currently managing Chennai Airport, is an attempt to privatize Chennai Airport. The Communist Party of India strongly condemns this move.
Chennai Airport is not an ordinary commercial enterprise. It is not private property, but public property belonging to the people. It is a vital public infrastructure of the country. It plays an important role in Tamil Nadu’s industry, trade, tourism, and cargo transportation.
Privatization is not the solution
If there are administrative shortcomings at Chennai Airport, they should be corrected. Passenger services, flight operations, cargo handling, road connectivity, and related facilities should be improved. But privatizing the airport is not the solution to that.
The Airports Authority of India is generating significant revenue and profit by operating airports across the country. Financial statements indicate that in the 2025-26 financial year, the Airports Authority of India’s net profit was Rs. 6,522 crore.
Reports say that Chennai Airport also ranked second among the airports managed by the Airports Authority of India in terms of profit in 2024-25. Data shows its profit was around Rs. 492.48 crore.
Unnecessary
In such a situation, handing over Chennai Airport, a profitable public sector enterprise, to private management is unnecessary.
The revenue and profits generated by the infrastructure of Chennai Airport, built with public money, must continue to remain a public asset of the government. They should not be converted into the profits of a private company.
Chennai Airport is an important cargo transportation hub for Tamil Nadu’s industrial and export-import economy.
According to official information from the Airports Authority of India, the Chennai Airport cargo terminal handles imports, exports, and cargo transshipment.
At present, steps are also underway to acquire 19.06 acres of land for Rs. 278 crore to reduce congestion at the cargo terminal. The aim is to resolve the delays faced by exporters and freight forwarding agents.
In addition, plans including a 5.2 km cargo corridor are under consideration to improve cargo operations at Chennai airport. Cargo carried on passenger flights plays a major role in Chennai’s air cargo traffic.
Therefore, operating the airport on a private profit-making basis is not just an issue related to passenger services. It is also an issue connected to Tamil Nadu’s exports, imports, industrial growth, and cargo supply chain.
With the Parandur airport project having been abandoned, a plan has been proposed to expand the Chennai airport and set up a fifth terminal.
Through this, the total passenger handling capacity is planned to be increased to 5.5 crore annually. However, Airports Authority of India officials have said that the Terminal 5 project is still only at the initial conceptual stage, and that comprehensive technical and traffic studies have not yet been carried out.
Anti-national act
Public sector projects are planned, public funds are invested, and infrastructure is created. Allowing the benefits to go to private profit is an anti-national act.
The Tamil Nadu government announced that it was abandoning the airport project in order to protect the livelihoods of farmers in Parandur. That is welcome. But protecting farmland alone is not the public interest. Rather, protecting public property, public sector enterprises, workers’ rights, and government revenue is also in the public interest.
Cannot be accepted
Tamil Nadu needs a modern airport. Passengers need world-class facilities. Cargo transport must be carried out quickly and efficiently. The airport’s capacity must be expanded. But the argument that privatization is necessary for modernization cannot be accepted.
If there are administrative shortcomings in the Airports Authority of India, they must be corrected. The necessary authority, investment, technological facilities, and administrative capability should be provided. Handing over public property for private profit is not development.
Must be withdrawn
The alternative is to strengthen the public-sector airport. The letter written by the Tamil Nadu government to the Prime Minister must be withdrawn.
He has emphasized that Chennai Airport should be modernized and expanded under the public-sector administration of the Airports Authority of India itself, and that only in this way can reservation-based employment opportunities and social funds be protected.
