Terminal T4 hosts 2 airlines. You'll find 7 dining options, 1 lounge, 1 shop here.
Gate 14 once sat in the “old terrible terminal”
Gate 14 and the former Anna International setup in T4 had such a bad reputation on FlyerTalk that regulars now talk about it in the past tense. Those older international facilities are effectively retired, with long‑haul players like British Airways and Lufthansa now using the newer international T2 instead of this legacy space. Think of T4 as a name that lingers in conversation, not as a terminal you actively use for check‑in today.
British Airways and Lufthansa check-in shifted away from this legacy zone
Back when this side of MAA handled regular international traffic, passengers for London and Frankfurt queued here for BA and LH counters ahead of late‑night departures. With operations consolidated, those counters moved into T2’s main international hall, along with shared security lanes and immigration. If an agent or old e‑ticket still mentions “Anna International (T4),” read it as historical; you will physically be in the T2 check‑in area for current flights.
The old international concourse had “very little shops”
A Singapore Airlines flyer called out the former Gate 14 area for having almost no retail, which fits older reports about this terminal’s sparse concessions. That stands in sharp contrast to today’s international footprint, where standard airport chains like Krispy Kreme, Subway, KFC, Cafe Coffee Day, Hudson News Cafe, Domino’s Pizza, and McDonald’s all sit airside in the active terminals. If you remember killing time here with nothing but a basic kiosk, the current setup across T2 feels like a different airport.
Travel Club Lounge replaced the old “sit at the gate and suffer” routine
FlyerTalk once tagged MAA as “without doubt the worst major Indian airport,” with frequent complaints about worn seating and limited quiet space around the old international gates. That is the context for the current Travel Club Lounge in the international area, which takes in Priority Pass and walk‑ins on longer layovers. Regulars now aim to clear security, head straight for Travel Club rather than lingering at legacy gate areas, and leave only when boarding for late‑night European departures is called.
Food and coffee runs skew toward chains on the international side
In the functioning international complex, chains handle most of the traffic: McDonald’s and KFC for fast food, Domino’s Pizza if you want something easy to split, and Krispy Kreme for a quick sugar hit before red‑eyes. Cafe Coffee Day does the heavy lifting on caffeine for late‑night banks; expect standard CCD pricing, not downtown discounts. If you want a sit‑down style meal before BA or LH, eat before immigration landside, then just grab coffee and water airside.
Retail is basic: think WHSmith and newsstand purchases
On the current international side, WHSmith and Hudson News Cafe cover reading material, snacks, and last‑minute cables or adapters. Prices run higher than in Chennai city, roughly 20–40% up on books and chargers, and selection stays narrow: mass‑market paperbacks, glossy magazines, and generic souvenirs. If you want anything niche, buy it in town; treat airport retail as backup for a forgotten charging cable or a bottle of water before boarding.
Watch out for dated corners and restroom complaints near legacy areas
Older FlyerTalk posts repeatedly slammed the former international terminal sections, including T4, for shabby interiors and unpleasant restrooms, and some of that infrastructure still lingers on the fringes during the drawn‑out demolition and rebuild cycle. If you find yourself routed past a clearly older corridor, skip the first restrooms you see and walk another 3–5 minutes toward the main international concourse, where the fixtures skew newer and cleaning crews rotate more often.
What regulars do now
FlyerTalk regulars openly talk about T3 and T4 as “legacy” and route their international trips through T2 by default, watching only for construction notices that might affect curb access. They show up about 3 hours before BA or LH departures, check in at T2, clear security and immigration in one shot, then camp out in Travel Club with a quick McDonald’s or CCD run if needed. The practical move: ignore old “Anna International” labels and follow current airport signage for T2 from the moment your taxi hits the terminal road.