Chennai
Chennai airport bus: MAA1 and MAA2 timings, fares and stops (2026)
Chennai airport's MTC buses: MAA1 to Tambaram and Kilambakkam, MAA2 to OMR and Siruseri. Every stop and fare, first and last buses, and what runs after 9 pm.
Chennai airport has two MTC bus routes of its own. MAA1 runs along GST Road through Pallavaram, Chromepet and Tambaram to the Kilambakkam bus terminus (KCBT). MAA2, air-conditioned and electric, crosses to OMR for Thoraipakkam, Sholinganallur and Siruseri IT Park. Both leave from the bus bay by Gate A6 of Terminal 2, fares are ₹13 to ₹60 paid on board, and buses run from the airport between 5:00 am and 10:00 pm.
Every time and fare below is from MTC's own timetable and fare list, checked on 30 September 2026. Some of what is still widely shared from the 2025 launch is out of date: MAA1 no longer runs through the night, and MAA2 no longer goes to Akkarai. Both are covered below, along with what to do if you land after the last bus.
Chennai airport bus at a glance
| MAA1 | MAA2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Goes to | Tambaram and Kilambakkam (KCBT) | Sholinganallur and Siruseri IT Park |
| Via | GST Road: Pallavaram, Chromepet, Tambaram, Vandalur | Radial road and OMR: Thoraipakkam, Karapakkam, Navalur |
| Bus | Low-floor, non-AC | AC electric |
| Fare from the airport | ₹13 to ₹31 | ₹15 to ₹60 |
| From the airport | 5:25 am to 8:50 pm | 5:00 am to 10:00 pm |
| To the airport | 4:50 am to 9:15 pm from KCBT | 6:05 am to 10:00 pm from Siruseri |
| How often | Usually every 15 minutes | Usually every 10 to 15 minutes |
| End to end | About 1 hour | About 1½ hours |
Where to catch the bus at Chennai airport
Both routes start at the MTC bus bay by Gate A6 of Terminal 2, the international terminal, a short walk from the arrival halls, and leave the airport past Terminal 1. Because the buses start here, you board at the start of the route.
Going to the airport, the buses end at the same bay.
MAA1: Chennai airport to Tambaram and Kilambakkam
MAA1 is the route for Pallavaram, Chromepet, Tambaram and the southern suburbs along GST Road, and for the Kilambakkam bus terminus, where government buses leave for southern Tamil Nadu. It runs 62 times a day in each direction, usually every 15 minutes. The first bus leaves the airport at 5:25 am and the last at 8:50 pm.
| Stop | From the airport | Fare |
|---|---|---|
| Tirusulam | about 4 min | ₹13 |
| Pallavaram | about 8 min | ₹15 |
| Chromepet | about 15 min | ₹17 |
| Tambaram Sanatorium | about 25 min | ₹19 |
| Tambaram | about 30 min | ₹21 |
| Irumbuliyur | about 35 min | ₹23 |
| Perungalathur | about 45 min | ₹25 |
| Vandalur Gate | about 50 min | ₹27 |
| Vandalur Zoo | about 55 min | ₹29 |
| Kilambakkam bus terminus (KCBT) | about 1 hour | ₹31 |
The full run takes about an hour. Times to stops along the way are estimated from each stop's distance along the route; MTC publishes only the departure times at each end.
MAA2: Chennai airport to OMR, Sholinganallur and Siruseri
MAA2 is the route for the IT corridor. It uses MTC's air-conditioned electric buses, crosses from Pallavaram on the Pallavaram–Thoraipakkam radial road, and runs down OMR to the terminus inside SIPCOT IT Park at Siruseri. There are 67 buses a day from the airport, from 5:00 am to 10:00 pm, and 69 towards it.
| Stop | From the airport | Fare |
|---|---|---|
| Tirusulam | about 3 min | ₹15 |
| Pallavaram | about 6 min | ₹20 |
| Echankadu | about 20 min | ₹30 |
| Sunnambu Kolathur | about 25 min | ₹30 |
| Kamatchi Hospital | about 30 min | ₹40 |
| Thoraipakkam | about 40 min | ₹40 |
| Karapakkam | about 55 min | ₹40 |
| Sholinganallur | about 1 hour | ₹40 |
| Kumaran Nagar | about 1 hour 15 min | ₹50 |
| Navalur | about 1 hour 25 min | ₹50 |
| Siruseri IT Park (SIPCOT) | about 1 hour 30 min | ₹60 |
MTC also lists smaller stops on the way, including Pallavaram New Bridge, Vels University, 230 KV Tower, Mootakaran Chavadi and Semmancheri, with fares on the same scale. MTC does not publish a running time for MAA2, so the 1½ hours end to end is our estimate; how we worked it out is on the data sources page. Allow more in the evening peak on OMR.
First and last bus from Chennai airport
| Route | First bus | Last bus |
|---|---|---|
| MAA1 from the airport | 5:25 am | 8:50 pm |
| MAA2 from the airport | 5:00 am | 10:00 pm |
| MAA1 to the airport, from Kilambakkam | 4:50 am | 9:15 pm |
| MAA2 to the airport, from Siruseri | 6:05 am | 10:00 pm |
For an early flight, the 4:50 am MAA1 from Kilambakkam reaches Tambaram about half an hour later and the airport at about 5:50 am.
Landing late? What runs after the last bus
MAA1's last bus leaves the airport at 8:50 pm and MAA2's at 10:00 pm. After that there is no bus from the terminal bay.
On the MAA1 side there is a night bus. MTC's route 70V runs between the airport and Kilambakkam through the night, but it stops out on GST Road, at Tirusulam and Meenambakkam, not at the bay by Terminal 2. From the airport it leaves at 9:55, 10:10, 10:25 and 10:40 pm, then 11:25 and 11:40 pm, midnight, and every half hour from 12:30 am to 3:30 am, with a last run at 3:50 am. Towards the airport it runs from Kilambakkam between 9:50 pm and 3:50 am, at uneven intervals of 10 minutes to an hour.
For OMR and Sholinganallur there is no MTC airport bus after 10 pm, so plan on a cab.
Going to central Chennai?
Neither MAA route goes to the city centre: MAA1 heads south down GST Road and MAA2 south-east to OMR. For Guindy, Anna Salai or Chennai Central, take the Chennai Metro from the airport's own station instead.
If you have read that MAA1 runs 24/7
Two claims from the April 2025 launch are still repeated widely, and both would send you the wrong way:
- "MAA1 runs 24 hours, every 15 minutes." That is how it was announced at launch. MTC's current timetable runs MAA1 from 5:25 am to 8:50 pm from the airport. Overnight, the corridor is covered by route 70V from GST Road, as above.
- "MAA2 goes to Akkarai on ECR, every 30 minutes." MAA2 was changed in August 2025 to run AC electric buses to Siruseri IT Park on OMR, and it now runs about every 10 to 15 minutes. It does not go to ECR.
Chennai airport bus: common questions
Is there a bus from Chennai airport to Tambaram?
Yes. MAA1 reaches Tambaram in about 30 minutes for ₹21, usually every 15 minutes from 5:25 am to 8:50 pm. Going the other way, it leaves Tambaram for the airport about half an hour after each departure from Kilambakkam.
Is there a bus from Chennai airport to Kilambakkam bus terminus?
Yes. MAA1 ends at Kilambakkam (KCBT), about an hour from the airport, for ₹31. After 8:50 pm, the night bus 70V runs to Kilambakkam from GST Road.
Which bus goes from Chennai airport to Sholinganallur or OMR?
MAA2. It reaches Sholinganallur in about an hour for ₹40 and continues to Navalur and Siruseri IT Park.
Does the Chennai airport bus run at night?
Not from the terminal. The last MAA1 leaves at 8:50 pm and the last MAA2 at 10:00 pm. Night route 70V runs to Kilambakkam until 3:50 am, from GST Road.
How much is the Chennai airport bus?
₹13 to ₹31 on MAA1 and ₹15 to ₹60 on MAA2, depending on how far you go, paid on board.
Where does the airport bus leave from?
From the MTC bus bay by Gate A6 of Terminal 2, a short walk from the arrival halls.
Find your stop
Pick your stop and airportbus.in shows the next MAA1 or MAA2 due, when it reaches you, and when it gets to the airport or your stop.
- Chennai airport to the city: every stop the buses call at
- To Chennai airport: every boarding stop
- All 20 stops, searchable
- Chennai airport buses: both routes, fares and the network map
MTC's helpline is 149. Timetables change; if something here no longer matches what you find at the stop, tell us and we will check it against MTC.
Sources: MTC route-wise information, updated 7 August 2026; MTC bus timings, checked 30 September 2026; MTC fare list; MTC night service schedule; DT Next, 20 August 2025; Adyar Times, 30 April 2025; Coach Builders India; TNBusStand. The full list for every figure on this site is on our data sources page.