Every published prepaid zone fare beside our own fixed pre-booked price, the night surcharge window, the ten-minute free-time rule — and the train and bus fares, because sometimes those are the right answer.
In short
A pre-booked sedan from Chennai airport to any city zone is ₹800 – 1,200 all-in and an SUV or MUV ₹1,200 – 2,500, fixed at booking with no surge. The prepaid counter runs ₹200 – 300 to Guindy at 7 km and ₹450 – 600 to Central at 20 km. Between midnight and 5 am add ₹150 – 250.
Reviewed 20 September 2026 · zone fares checked against the prepaid counter each quarter; the night surcharge window and free-time rule are checked at the same time
The prepaid counter inside the terminal is the public benchmark for an airport run in this city. We print it beside our fixed pre-booked fare rather than hoping you have not seen it.
| MAA to | Distance | Prepaid counter | Our pre-booked sedan | Our SUV / MUV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guindy / Little Mount | 7 km | ₹200 – 300 | ₹800 – 1,200 | ₹1,200 – 2,500 |
| Adyar / Besant Nagar | 10 km | ₹300 – 420 | ₹800 – 1,200 | ₹1,200 – 2,500 |
| T. Nagar | 12 km | ₹350 – 480 | ₹800 – 1,200 | ₹1,200 – 2,500 |
| Tambaram | 14 km | ₹350 – 480 | ₹800 – 1,200 | ₹1,200 – 2,500 |
| Anna Salai / Mount Road | 16 km | ₹400 – 550 | ₹800 – 1,200 | ₹1,200 – 2,500 |
| Nungambakkam / Alwarpet | 18 km | ₹420 – 580 | ₹800 – 1,200 | ₹1,200 – 2,500 |
| Chennai Central / Egmore | 20 km | ₹450 – 600 | ₹800 – 1,200 | ₹1,200 – 2,500 |
| Perungudi / Thoraipakkam | 20 km | ₹500 – 650 | ₹800 – 1,200 | ₹1,200 – 2,500 |
| Sholinganallur / OMR | 22 km | ₹550 – 700 | ₹800 – 1,200 | ₹1,200 – 2,500 |
| Siruseri / far OMR | 35 km | ₹750 – 950 | ₹1,000 – 1,200 | ₹1,200 – 2,500 |
| Mahabalipuram | 60 km | ₹1,300 pre-booked | from ₹1,300 | ₹1,600 – 2,500 |
The prepaid counter is inside the terminal, the fare is fixed by zone, and for a short daylight hop with hand luggage it is genuinely hard to beat at ₹200 – 300 to Guindy. What you accept in return is a queue, a vehicle you did not choose, and no relationship with the driver before you meet him.
An app cab is the default reflex and it works well at eleven in the morning. It works badly when four hundred people clear immigration at the same time, when it rains, and between midnight and 5 am — the three occasions people most need it. The fare is whatever the surge multiplier says at the moment you press the button, which is the opposite of a published price.
A pre-booked cab costs more than the counter and usually less than a surged app fare. What the ₹800 – 1,200 buys is specific: a driver already inside the terminal building holding a board with your name, a flight number we have been tracking so a two-hour delay is not your problem, a fare fixed when you booked rather than when you landed, and a mobile number you can call from the aerobridge.
We are not going to pretend the counter does not exist or that its fares are bad. If you are one person with a cabin bag going to T Nagar at two in the afternoon, use it. If you are a family of four arriving at 3 am with hold luggage and a hotel booking to make, the maths changes.
Including the ones that cost less than we do. This is the comparison travel publishers currently own, and there is no reason an operator should not just publish it.
| Mode | Fare | Honest read |
|---|---|---|
| Tirusulam suburban train | ₹10 – 25 | Cheapest way into the city by a wide margin. No luggage handling, no air conditioning, and you finish at a station rather than at your door. Excellent if you travel light. |
| MTC airport bus | ₹25 – 60 | Cheap and reasonably frequent. Fine with one bag; awkward with three and a child at midnight. |
| Prepaid taxi counter | ₹200 – 1,300 by zone | Fixed, official, no surge. You queue, and the vehicle is whatever is next. |
| App cab | Surge-dependent, unpublished | Convenient off-peak. At 3 am, in rain, or after a wide-body arrival it is the least predictable option on this list. |
| Pre-booked with us | ₹800 – 1,200 sedan · ₹1,200 – 2,500 SUV / MUV | Fixed before you fly, name board at arrivals, flight tracked, driver's number sent the evening before. |
Chennai airport allows ten minutes free between a vehicle entering and leaving the forecourt. Beyond that, multi-level car park charges apply at the prevailing tariff. That single rule shapes how every airport pickup in this city actually works.
It means a driver cannot simply park at the kerb and wait for a delayed flight — the meter of the car park starts. So we time the entry to your landing instead: the vehicle waits outside the ten-minute window until your aircraft is on the ground and you are through, then comes in. Your driver's mobile number is with you the evening before, and the meeting point is confirmed by WhatsApp on the day, because kerbside arrangements at MAA move with whatever construction phase the terminals are in.
If you would rather have the car physically waiting in the car park when you walk out — worth it with elderly parents or a lot of luggage — say so and we will do that. The parking charge is then billed at actuals, with the receipt, and you will know that before you book rather than after.
A delayed flight costs you nothing. We watch the flight number, not the clock. What does carry a charge is you: if you land on time and take ninety minutes to appear, waiting is chargeable, and we will have called you twice before it starts.
The surcharge is ₹150 – 250 and it is on the quote before you book. It exists because a driver who starts a shift at 1 am to be at arrivals for a 2:20 landing is not doing a normal day's work, and because the alternative — an unquoted charge asked for in cash at the end — is the practice we built this site to argue against.
Outside the airport, a separate ₹200 night charge applies on outstation one-way drop trips running between 11 pm and 5 am. The two do not stack on a straightforward airport transfer; a night airport pickup carries the airport surcharge only. If your booking is an airport pickup that continues straight out of the city — a 2 am landing followed by a drive to Tirupati — the quote will show you which charge applies and why.
A common arrival-day booking, priced as an airport-origin trip rather than a city one. Competing operators publish about ₹3,799 for a sedan on this run; ours is quoted against the ₹13 – 15 per km rate and the Andhra Pradesh permit named separately.
Sixty kilometres down the coast, and the one zone the prepaid counter itself prices as a pre-booked fare at ₹1,300. If you are heading straight to a beach resort, this is the transfer to book before you fly.
Apollo, MIOT, Fortis Malar, Gleneagles Global, SIMS and Kauvery pickups for patients and attendants, with a high-roof vehicle where a wheelchair is travelling and a driver briefed on which gate to use.
The prepaid counter charges ₹200 to ₹300 for Guindy at 7 km, ₹350 to ₹480 for T. Nagar at 12 km, ₹450 to ₹600 for Central or Egmore at 20 km and ₹550 to ₹700 for Sholinganallur at 22 km. Our pre-booked sedan is a flat ₹800 to ₹1,200 all-in to any of those zones, fixed at booking.
The Tirusulam suburban train at ₹10 to ₹25, then the MTC airport bus at ₹25 to ₹60. Both are genuinely cheaper than any cab and both are awkward with hold luggage or a late arrival. The prepaid counter at ₹200 upward is the cheapest door-to-door option.
10 minutes from entry to exit. Beyond that, multi-level car park charges apply at the prevailing AAI tariff. That is why we time the driver's entry to your actual landing rather than parking early, and why a car physically waiting inside the car park is billed with the parking receipt attached.
Yes, ₹150 to ₹250 between midnight and 5 am, stated on the quote before you book. It is separate from the ₹200 night charge that applies to outstation one-way drops running between 11 pm and 5 am, and the two do not stack on a straightforward airport transfer.
Nothing, and it costs nothing. We track the flight number rather than the booking time, so a 2-hour delay changes neither the ₹800 – 1,200 fare nor the arrangement. Waiting becomes chargeable only if the aircraft lands on time and you do not appear for a long stretch — and we will have called you twice before that starts.
Inside arrivals with a name board. The exact meeting point is confirmed by WhatsApp on the day, because kerbside arrangements at MAA shift with terminal construction. Your driver's name and mobile number reach you the evening before, and the 10-minute free entry-to-exit rule means the car comes in once you are on the ground.
The prepaid counter charges ₹550 to ₹700 for the 22 km to Sholinganallur and ₹750 to ₹950 for the 35 km to Siruseri and far OMR. Our pre-booked sedan is ₹800 to ₹1,200 to Sholinganallur and ₹1,000 to ₹1,200 to Siruseri, with SUVs and MUVs at ₹1,200 to ₹2,500.
Yes, with a 12 to 14 seat tempo traveller quoted as a point-to-point transfer rather than against the sedan or SUV bands. The ten-minute free-time rule applies the same way, and for a group arriving on one flight we usually recommend the car enters the car park so nobody is standing on the kerb with luggage.
Usually yes, on fare alone — ₹450 to ₹600 to Central against our ₹800 to ₹1,200. What pre-booking buys is a fixed price set before you flew, a driver holding your name, a tracked flight and a phone number. On a daylight arrival with one bag, the counter is a perfectly sensible choice and we will tell you so.
Pickup, date, vehicle, passengers. A written all-in price on WhatsApp, usually inside 30 minutes, 6 am to 11 pm. No advance needed for a quote.