Madurai airport runway expansion stuck; call to revive underpass plan
The project requires 615.92 acres, but 87 acres are yet to be acquired. Key hurdles include opposition from villagers in Chinna Udaippu over pending compensation cases in the high court, and the diversion of water bodies, including the Gundar Channel. Although the Tamil Nadu government assigned TIDCO to acquire and hand over the land to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) this year, progress has been slow.
"We are awaiting land clearance and permission from Virudhunagar district, as some of the water bodies fall under its jurisdiction.
We've also requested an additional 20 acres," said airport director Muthukumar.
The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TNCCI) has revived its demand for an underpass on NH 45B near the airport to avoid a 7-km diversion of the Madurai–Aruppukottai Road. TNCCI president N Jegatheesan said the underpass was announced in the Assembly in 2021 but dropped after Tamil Nadu Road Infrastructure Development Corporation (TNRIDC) allegedly inflated the estimate from ₹230 crore to ₹600 crore, citing financial viability.
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A ₹200-crore alternative road plan also failed due to land acquisition issues.
TNCCI has urged the Legislative Assembly's Assurances Committee, headed by MLA T Velmurugan, to push for reviving the underpass. "As our plea in the Madras high court was dismissed, we plan to appeal in the Supreme Court," Jegatheesan said.
At the airport advisory committee meeting in Feb, MPs Su Venkatesan (Madurai) and Manickam Tagore (Virudhunagar) said the Madurai district administration had submitted a ₹90-crore proposal to the state government to divert the Gundar Channel — a major hurdle for the project — but approval is pending.
A Virudhunagar district official said it had been decided to develop alternate land to relocate the water body.
While the physical expansion remains stalled, stakeholders say enhancing air connectivity, particularly international services, is equally urgent. Mahendra Varman of Madurai Infrastructure said the airport should be brought under the ASEAN Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) to attract foreign carriers.
"Madurai isn't part of the ASEAN BASA while Trichy is, putting us at a disadvantage. Airlines from Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia prefer Trichy due to regulatory hurdles here," he said.
The ASEAN BASA allows unrestricted seat capacity and frequency for airlines from seven Southeast Asian countries. "Even if ASEAN inclusion isn't immediate, the Centre must push for bilateral air agreements with countries like Singapore.
Reports say India and Singapore may soon review their air services pact. This is a golden opportunity," Varman added.
Despite repeated appeals, Madurai has not been designated as a point of call for Singapore-bound flights. "Before Covid-19, there were seven weekly flights from Madurai to Singapore. Now it's down to three, forcing passengers to fly via Trichy," Jegatheesan noted.
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