The five-screen PVR INOX multiplex at Chennai Airport’s Aerohub is staring at a potential shutdown amid a legal dispute with the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which claims cinema operations violate provisions of the AAI Act, 1994.
The Madras High Court has intervened for now. Justice N. Anand Venkatesh has directed AAI to maintain status quo until it considers a formal representation from PVR INOX seeking permission to continue operating at the site, according to a report by The Hindu.
The order came after Additional Solicitor General A.R.L. Sundaresan and AAI’s standing counsel Ramaswamy Meyyappan told the court that the authority would respond in line with Articles 41 and 42 of the multi-level car park (MLCP) development agreement. The directive was issued while disposing of a writ petition filed by PVR INOX to prevent AAI from halting its operations.
A Long-Running Dispute
The row stems from a 2017 AAI tender inviting private players to develop an MLCP with integrated commercial infrastructure at the airport. Olympia Tech Park (Chennai) Private Limited won the bid and created Meenambakkam Realty Private Limited, which entered into a development agreement with AAI in 2018.
The multiplex was part of this project and was later sub-licensed to PVR INOX in November 2022. However, AAI issued a notice in July 2023 directing the shutdown of the cinema, arguing that cinema operations were not legally permissible under its governing Act.
Meenambakkam Realty challenged this decision in the Delhi High Court and an arbitral tribunal was formed to address the matter. In February 2024, the tribunal stayed AAI’s shutdown order, offering interim relief to the developer.
PVR INOX Seeks Permission to Continue
In May 2025, Meenambakkam Realty informed PVR INOX that AAI had prematurely terminated the 2018 agreement and had decided to take over maintenance of the entire 4.5-acre complex.
Despite the termination, PVR INOX has appealed to AAI to allow the multiplex to function, citing Article 42 of the development agreement. The clause permits AAI to let sub-licensees continue operations under revised, mutually agreed terms.
For now, the fate of the airport multiplex hangs in the balance, pending AAI’s decision and further legal developments.