According to a survey, a significant percentage of airline passengers said the price of food and beverages sold at airports in the country is “excessive”, with some passengers paying more than 200 percent more than at restaurants, organized retail and railway stations. A price has to be paid. According to online social platform Local Circles, 60 per cent of airline passengers surveyed say they are charged 100-200 per cent more for food and beverages at airports compared to railway stations.
The recently conducted survey received over 28,000 responses from airline passengers located across 309 districts in India. Of these, 61 percent respondents were men and 39 percent were women. About 43 per cent of the respondents were from Tier-I cities of the country, 30 per cent from Tier-2 and the remaining 27 per cent from Tier-3, 4, 5 and rural districts.
Giving the example of a samosa or patty that can cost more than Rs 200, or a thali that can cost more than Rs 500, coffee or tea or a cold drink can easily cost Rs 200-300, which is a Two to three times more than. Payment has to be made at a food outlet in the mall. It said the pain of passengers increases during delays due to fog or other reasons and they wait for several hours to board flights without affordable food.
It said this scenario is in contrast to railway stations, especially at larger stations in Delhi and Mumbai, where passengers have a choice between small food stalls/outlets, small vendors and large franchise outlets. With food available at high prices at most airports, many travelers think twice before spending on food at airports and in some cases even carry their own snacks or meals, although there are security and weight restrictions in place. This is cumbersome because of the inherent risk of spillover. ,
With the government’s ambition to make flying more affordable and 70 per cent of total traffic being on low-cost carriers, it is important to provide low-cost food options at airports. LocalCircles said, the price and quantity equation needs to be reworked so that food stalls can operate on higher quantities and lower prices instead of higher prices and lower quantities.
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