Parandur is 70 km from Chennai Fort. From South Chennai — where most air travellers originate — the commute is over two hours. This is not a minor inconvenience. It is a fundamental flaw in the site's economics.
| City pair | Distance between airports |
|---|---|
| Mumbai CSMIA — Navi Mumbai NMIA | ~30 km |
| Delhi IGI — Jewar | ~65 km |
| London Heathrow — Gatwick | ~40 km |
| Paris CDG — Orly | ~35 km |
| Chennai MAA — Parandur | ~70 km |
At 70 km, Parandur is at the outer limit of what any major city considers acceptable for a second airport. And that is the straight-line distance from Chennai Fort. For passengers travelling from South Chennai (Adyar, Velachery, OMR, Thiruvanmiyur) — precisely the areas that generate the highest proportion of air traffic — the distance is significantly greater and the travel time crosses two hours.
The proponents of Parandur acknowledged the distance problem. Their solution: a ₹11,000 crore metro extension from Chennai to Parandur.
Think about that for a moment. The response to a site being too far from the city is to spend an additional ₹11,000 crore — roughly the cost of building 55 km of underground metro — to make the site accessible. That ₹11,000 crore is never counted in the "project cost" when the airport is being justified. It appears as a separate line item, as if it is an optional upgrade rather than a necessity.
It is not optional. Without metro connectivity, Parandur would be accessible only by road — a 1 hour 54 minute drive on roads that are not designed for airport traffic. The Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway, if completed, would help. But that expressway was not designed for airport access; it is a regional corridor. Tapping off it would require additional interchanges and approach roads.
Chennai Fort to Parandur: ~1 hr 30 min by car
OMR/Thoraipakkam to Parandur: ~2 hr 15 min by car
Chennai Airport to Parandur (by metro, if built): ~55 min
Chennai Airport to Parandur (by metro + check-in + security): ~2 hr+
Compare this to the existing Chennai airport, which is 15–30 minutes from most parts of the city. The value of proximity is not just convenience — it directly affects airline route decisions, passenger willingness to fly, and the economic viability of the airport itself.
Beyond distance, the site itself poses serious economic questions. Of the 5,369 acres identified for the airport, 1,425 acres (26.5%) are active water bodies. Twelve lakes, twenty-plus ponds, two major canals, and the Nelvoy Eri sit within or immediately adjacent to the project boundary.
Building a runway on waterlogged land is not impossible — but it is dramatically more expensive than building on stable soil:
The minister's claim that 800–900 acres of water bodies made the site unsuitable was a simplification, but the core point stands: the site economics of Parandur are fundamentally worse than those of the alternatives.
A site that is 70 km from the city, costs ₹11,000 crore just to make accessible, and sits on 26% water bodies is not a "viable alternative." It is the site you choose when you have decided on the answer and are working backward to justify it.