CHENNAI: The Airport Authority of India (AAI) is set to construct stormwater drainage for about 4.3 km to avoid waterlogging near the runway of the city airport during heavy rains.

Flight services get affected every year due to waterlogging in the aircraft movement areas during monsoon rains. In extreme cases during heavy rains, flight services had even been suspended for a day or two.

To resolve this issue, the AAI, with advice from experts from IIT Madras, decided to construct a drainage facility in the aircraft movement area for 4.3 km at the cost of Rs 123 crore. Once the drainage work was completed, there would be no waterlogging problems in the airport, especially on the runway and other aircraft movement spaces. The water will be diverted to the Adyar River.

On Wednesday, the groundbreaking ceremony for the drainage construction was held at the airport, and the work is expected to be completed by August 2026.