Chennai: “Chennai Airport should be modernized and expanded under the public sector administration of the Airports Authority of India itself. The attempt to privatize Chennai Airport should be abandoned,” said M. Veerapandian, the state secretary of the Communist Party of India.
In a statement issued by him on this, he said, “The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s letter to the Prime Minister stating that another director should 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 transport.
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 show that the Airports Authority of India’s net profit in the 2025-26 financial year was Rs. 6,522 crore.
Reports also say that Chennai Airport ranked second among the most profitable airports managed by the Airports Authority of India in 2024-25. Data shows its profit was around Rs. 492.48 crore.
In such a situation, handing over the profit-making public sector enterprise, Chennai Airport, to private management is unnecessary. The revenue and profits generated by the infrastructure of Chennai Airport, which was built with public money, should continue to remain a public asset of the government. They should not be turned 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 under way for the Airports Authority of India to acquire 19.06 acres of land for Rs. 278 crore to reduce congestion at the cargo terminal. The aim is to address the delays faced by exporters and cargo forwarding agents.
In addition, plans including a 5.2 km cargo corridor to improve cargo operations at Chennai Airport are under consideration. Cargo exports carried on passenger aircraft play a key role in Chennai’s air cargo transport.
Therefore, operating the airport for private profit 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 build 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 fifth terminal project is still only at the initial conceptual stage, and that comprehensive technical and traffic studies have not yet been carried out.
Public sector projects are planned, public funds are invested, and infrastructure is created. To hand over the benefits 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 agricultural land alone is not the public interest. Rather, protecting public property, public sector enterprises, workers’ rights, and government revenue is what constitutes the public interest. 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, they must be corrected. The necessary authority, investment, technical facilities, and administrative capability must be provided. Handing over public property for private profit is not development. The alternative is to strengthen the public-sector airport. The Tamil Nadu government should withdraw the letter it has written to the Prime Minister.
Chennai Airport should be modernized and expanded under the public-sector management of the Airports Authority of India itself. Only through this can reservation-based employment opportunities and social funds be protected, the Tamil Nadu State Executive Committee of the Communist Party of India has urged the Union and State governments,” he said.
