Fliers fleeced at airport shops

Kolkata: If you hate getting fleeced and are passing through the Kolkata airport, prepare to stay thirsty, hungry and bored. For, just about everything that is sold there - from packaged water and beverages to bakery goods as well as newspapers and magazines - is sold at a premium in blatant violation of the West Bengal Consumer Protection Act.
"A bottle of packaged water that retails for Rs 12 everywhere in the country costs Rs 25 inside the terminal and Rs 20 outside it. Even biscuit and cake packets sell at more than twice the MRP. Airport administrators do nothing about it," said frequent flier Debojyoti Chakraborty.
Many passengers, particularly those travelling on low-cost carriers that don’t serve food on board, are fleeced at will by the shops. Thus, a packet of cakes and biscuits and a 500 ml cold drink bottle, which retails for Rs 43 everywhere in the country, sells for Rs 105 at the airport. And no, there is no value addition by way of the biscuits and cakes being served on a platter or the cold drink offered in a glass.
The shop-owners claimed they did not have an option since customer count was low and lease rate at the airport high. "We are here to make a profit. Since I had bid for the store for Rs 90,000 a month, I have to recover the money. The only way to do so is by charging a premium as there aren’t enough customers," a confectionery store-owner said.
02/11/08 Arpit Basu/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Oct 2008