More shopping options soon at Chennai airport

An area of 467 sq. m. has been allotted for retail outlets at the airport and tenders have been floated for the same

Passengers at Chennai airport will soon have better shopping options with more retail outlets set to come up there.

With the daily footfall crossing 50,000, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to provide a better shopping experience for the flyers. AAI officials said tenders have been floated to select a firm to bring in more retail outlets in both domestic and international terminals.

“Since the new integrated building will be opened in two phases and the passenger traffic will rise in view of the fall in COVID-19 cases, we need to up the game. With the tender floated already, we should be able to find a contractor in three or four months,” an official said.

The areas have been earmarked already in both terminals. In total, 467 sq. m. is available and of this, 180 sq. m. will be in domestic terminal and 287 sq. m. in the international terminal. The contractor will have to pay concession fee and monthly rent for the space which may range from ₹2,000 to ₹ 3,000 per sq. m., the officials said.

A larger area has been allotted to international terminal as it gets a large number of transit passengers who spend more time waiting for their flight.

The improvement in the amenities assumes significance as the airport is losing its rank and is seen as lagging behind those in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, the AAI officials said.