When will Kanadukathan have an Airport?

Kanadukathan may be considered the heart of the Chettinad region. Recently, you may have read that several hotels have set up shop there. The palatial mansions have been converted into hotels, and tourism has been booming in the area for the last 10 years. Not to say everything is green, but there are also challenges with dilapidated houses and some of them being covered into plots. As far as I know, for the last 15 years, there have been talks about Kanadukathan getting its own airport. Because of this, real estate prices have also seen a steep increase. But it has just been talk, talk, and talk, and there is no sign of an airport coming to the region.

There was a time in India (around 2004-2006) when there were extensive talks about setting up new airports, and flying would be the new way to commute from one place to another. It was the time of Air Deccan. I also vividly remember when I went to travel from Chennai to Bangalore. I thought I would take the train, but when I checked the ticket prices, flying was cheap. Then I thought, why not just fly? I truly enjoyed the experience. I thought everything was going to change, but 20 years later, while there has been some change with respect to flying and the upgrade of existing airports, it is certainly not at the level it needs to be. Unfortunately, Tamil Nadu never got its fair share when it comes to airports and flying. It is definitely not the hype that was talked about, and even today, it is not like every normal person just flies. 

In Austin, I recently took a plane ride from Georgetown, Texas, to Taylor, Texas, with my friend Thenappan Nachiappan, and that short ride changed my whole perspective on the aviation industry. I’ve written more about it here, and you can check it out. We also have a video on it.

There are multiple airfields across the United States, and people also fly as a hobby. Of course, it is a rich country, and you can’t make comparisons with India, but when I asked my friend, “Hey, is the same thing possible in India?” he said, “Why not? There are definitely many airstrips.” It immediately reminded me of the airstrip in Kanadukathan. To a great extent, at least as far as I know, it is abandoned. Nobody uses it. Why not just clean it up, open it for aviation, and, if people would like to use the airstrip and land, set up the infrastructure? There have been talks about setting up a training facility for aviation for the last few years. Again, it’s just been talk, and I don’t really see anything happening.

You feel like traveling when you have connectivity, and obviously, we would like more people to visit Kanadukathan and explore the surrounding areas, which are simply a treat. A lot of people go there, but they just travel by road. Opening up an airport in Kanadukathan would make a lot of difference, not just to travelers but to the entire region, and it would help boost the local economy. When will Kanadukathan get it?

Thank you,

Karthik Chidambaram