Leave early for peak GST Road; international wants ~3 hours; domestic banks still need ~90–120 minutes once you are at the correct building.

Tirusulam sits ~20–21 km southwest of central Chennai. Off-peak taxis can do ~35–50 minutes; weekday GST / Kathipara crush routinely stretches past 60–90+ minutes. Domestic check-in still wants you ~90–120 minutes early; long-haul international banks want a full ~3 hours. Same-day T2↔T1/T4 connections need immigration/bag claim when applicable, the free landside shuttle, and full re-security — treat 2.5–3+ hours as the realistic floor on separate tickets.

All international ops use T2; domestic splits across T1 and T4 by airline and aircraft type — read the boarding pass, not a 2022 blog.

AAI/Wikipedia: Terminals 1 and 4 are domestic; Terminal 2 is the international building that replaced older T2/T3 shells. Blogs that still call T4 “Kamarajar international” or send Gulf flights to T4 are stale. IndiGo domestic usually T1 (some ATR departures have used T4); Air India / Air India Express domestic often T4; every international carrier + IndiGo international = T2. Free landside shuttle only — no sterile walk.

Priority Pass / Dreamfolks / premium-card holders usually eat better value inside Travel Club than buying à la carte deep airside.

T2’s newer international airside has broader F&B and duty-free than the older domestic halls, but peak Gulf/Singapore evening banks still pack the QSRs. Live PP lists four Travel Club rooms (T1×2, T4, T2) with mid-3s to low-4s ratings and hard stay caps (2–3h). Alcohol is often extra payment on PP facility lists — ask before the desk scans. Landside sealed snacks before security remain the honest cheap backup.

Dual runways help capacity, but CAT-I-only ops and Northeast monsoon / flood history make weather the soft spot.

MAA lacks CAT-III ILS, so fog and heavy rain still force diversions and ground stops more often than at dual-CAT-III peers. Dec 2015 Adyar flooding closed the airport for roughly a week — the secondary runway still bridges the river. Cyclone and NE monsoon weeks (roughly Oct–Dec) are the reliability tax; evening Gulf banks cascade when inbounds stack. Prefer earlier daytime connections when the forecast looks ugly.

Leave early for peak GST Road; international wants ~3 hours; domestic banks still need ~90–120 minutes once you are at the correct building.

Tirusulam sits ~20–21 km southwest of central Chennai. Off-peak taxis can do ~35–50 minutes; weekday GST / Kathipara crush routinely stretches past 60–90+ minutes. Domestic check-in still wants you ~90–120 minutes early; long-haul international banks want a full ~3 hours. Same-day T2↔T1/T4 connections need immigration/bag claim when applicable, the free landside shuttle, and full re-security — treat 2.5–3+ hours as the realistic floor on separate tickets.

All international ops use T2; domestic splits across T1 and T4 by airline and aircraft type — read the boarding pass, not a 2022 blog.

AAI/Wikipedia: Terminals 1 and 4 are domestic; Terminal 2 is the international building that replaced older T2/T3 shells. Blogs that still call T4 “Kamarajar international” or send Gulf flights to T4 are stale. IndiGo domestic usually T1 (some ATR departures have used T4); Air India / Air India Express domestic often T4; every international carrier + IndiGo international = T2. Free landside shuttle only — no sterile walk.

Priority Pass / Dreamfolks / premium-card holders usually eat better value inside Travel Club than buying à la carte deep airside.

T2’s newer international airside has broader F&B and duty-free than the older domestic halls, but peak Gulf/Singapore evening banks still pack the QSRs. Live PP lists four Travel Club rooms (T1×2, T4, T2) with mid-3s to low-4s ratings and hard stay caps (2–3h). Alcohol is often extra payment on PP facility lists — ask before the desk scans. Landside sealed snacks before security remain the honest cheap backup.

Dual runways help capacity, but CAT-I-only ops and Northeast monsoon / flood history make weather the soft spot.

MAA lacks CAT-III ILS, so fog and heavy rain still force diversions and ground stops more often than at dual-CAT-III peers. Dec 2015 Adyar flooding closed the airport for roughly a week — the secondary runway still bridges the river. Cyclone and NE monsoon weeks (roughly Oct–Dec) are the reliability tax; evening Gulf banks cascade when inbounds stack. Prefer earlier daytime connections when the forecast looks ugly.