Pune airport authorities are looking for private firms which will set up a vada pav stall and a bhel puri counter at the check-in area inside the terminal building. They are also planning to open a ‘low cost’ counter where tea, coffee and water will be sold.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has floated the tender notice for setting up these outlets and hopes that these will be operational by November 2018.
This decision to open multiple pocket-friendly food and beverage outlets inside the airport terminal will surely make passengers happy, as they have often complained about the exorbitant prices of food items sold there.
Airport officials said private players will be provided a four square metre space to set up each of the counters – one for vada pav, one for tea, coffee and water, and one for bhel puri. They will have to pay a monthly fee of Rs 9,000 to the AAI, apart from a rent of Rs 2,100 per month.
As per officials, the move comes after the issue of exorbitant prices of food items and beverages at Pune airport was discussed at a meeting of the Airport Advisory Committee last year. It was decided that the airport administration should take the initiative to set up a few stalls inside and outside the terminal.
While the private party will be given flexibility to decide the selling price, the maximum sale prices for these stalls have been capped by the AAI. For example, the seller can charge a maximum of Rs 50 for a vada pav, Rs 20 for tea and Rs 25 for coffee. A 500-ml water bottle can’t be sold for more than Rs 10.
Activist Dhairyashil Vandekar welcomed the move and expressed hope that similar ‘low cost options’ will be provided at every airport in the country, from where UDAN flights operate.