Before the jets arrived, a hotelier’s biplane made history in the skies over Madras.
In short: Long before Chennai International Airport became a bustling hub for millions, the city’s aviation story began with a humble biplane. In 1910, a local hotelier teamed up with a coach-builder to achieve the first powered flight in Asia, setting the stage for a century of transformation in Indian skies.
The aviation roots of Chennai, formerly Madras, trace back to 1910 when Giacomo D'Angelis, a Corsican hotelier, constructed a biplane with the help of Simpson's, a local coach-building firm. This experimental craft took flight at Island Grounds, marking a pioneering moment for powered aviation in Asia. By 1911, the skies saw further activity as aviators like Baron de Caters and Jules Tyck performed flying displays, capturing the public imagination and establishing a local interest in flight.
Formal infrastructure followed shortly after. In 1914, J. W. Madley, an engineer, conducted aerial photography over the Red Hills reservoir, and by 1915, Tata Air Mail inaugurated a service between Karachi and Madras, signaling the dawn of civil aviation in South India. The Madras Flying Club was established in March 1930, and by July of that year, the first instructional flight departed from the local airstrip. The aerodrome itself was commissioned in 1930, quickly becoming one of India's earliest airports.
The site’s role evolved significantly over the decades. During World War II, it served as a base for the Royal Indian Air Force, shifting away from its initial commercial focus. Post-war operations saw the Civil Aviation Department assume control in 1952, eventually leading to the construction of the first passenger terminal at Meenambakkam in 1954. Today, the airport stands as a critical regional hub, though its history remains deeply tied to those early, experimental days of the 1910s when local innovators first dared to take to the air.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Chennai International Airport
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