CHENNAI: The Chennai Airport terminal complex has 13 aerobridges, and one additional aerobridge for wide-bodied long haul aircraft is under construction and will be operational by March 2024, said the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Refuting news reports that Chennai may not get many long-haul widebody international flights for lack of aerobridges and other issues, the Ministry said out of the 13 aerobridges, five can cater to the Code E or wide-bodied long-haul flights.

Once the second phase of T2 is completed in 2025, an additional three Code E capable aerobridge will be available soon.

So, after 2025, nine aerobridges will be available for Code E aircraft for International Operations in swing mode.

According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, aircraft A380 mentioned in the news stories is the flagship of Code-F type of aircraft whose production has been stopped since 2021.

“The new generation wide-bodied long-haul aircraft A350 and B777 which are being operated and which are being ordered by airlines for future are Code-E type of aircraft, and Chennai Airport can handle them,” the Ministry said.