THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Adani Group and Dubai-based Flemingo International will soon open a duty-free shop at the Trivandrum airport. The shop, which will come up at the international terminal of the airport, is expected to open in April, said a source at the airport. “The duty-free shop has been a long pending demand of travellers. The new shop will meet international standards and will be much larger, nearly twice the size of the earlier shop,” said the source.
The previous duty-free shop, which functioned at the airport nearly four years ago, was shut down in April, 2018 after the CBI registered a case following allegations of corruption. The Plus Max duty-free shop operators had allegedly diverted foreign liquor to the black market using travel documents of passengers without consent. The investigation revealed that tax to the tune of `16.81 crore was evaded by diverting liquor to the local market using travel documents of nearly 13,000 passport holders.
Trivandrum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TCCI) president S N Raghuchandran Nair said passenger traffic has been affected as several travellers now opt Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) over Trivandrum International airport since the airport here does not have a duty free shop.
“Passengers, mostly those who arrive from countries like Saudi Arabia or Kuwait, where alcohol is prohibited, prefer Kochi airport as they can purchase items from the duty-free shop there Duty-free shops is a basic facility for tourists who wish to purchase electronics, chocolates or liquor. An airport cannot be considered customer-friendly if it does not have a duty-free shop,” he said. Last week, the airport announced new schedules of domestic flights and increased number of flights per week from 60 to 79.