The West Bengal Beverage Corporation (Bevco) has opened a retail liquor outlet at Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport in Andal and plans to launch a similar shop at the Calcutta airport soon.
“The retail liquor shop was opened at the airport in the middle of January and we are receiving an overwhelming response from passengers,” said a senior Bevco official, who added that each passenger was allowed to carry a maximum of two litres of alcohol on a flight.
“There are only four to five flights operating out of the airport in south Bengal. Interestingly, we are selling liquor worth Rs one lakh a day,” he added.
The Andal airport which commenced its journey in 2015 has air links with Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Hundreds of passengers, especially from south Bengal districts, use the Andal airport to connect with multiple cities in the country.
The opening of the Bevco shop at the Andal airport is significant as the state budget placed before the Assembly on February 15 projected a spike of 10.78 per cent in the excise collection in the 2022-23 fiscal. The government has also made an ambitious 19.5 per cent growth projection in excise duty collection for 2023-24.
Officials of Bevco — the state’s sole liquor distributor — said the primary aim of setting up the liquor outlet at the Andal airport was to add an “ornament” to the airport, which officials described as “deserted” compared to the other two airports in the state.
“But the response from the domestic passengers is inspiring us to launch such a shop at the domestic lounge of the Calcutta airport. We also plan to open such a corner shop at the Bagdogra airport,” said a state excise department official.
According to a source, a liquor outlet in the domestic lounge of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Airport in Calcutta will come up within two weeks. However, in the case of Calcutta, there will be a private player to run the outlet in association with Bevco.
The Calcutta airport has a duty-free liquor shop at the international terminal but there is no such outlet at the domestic lounge. Once the new outlet comes up, domestic passengers also can carry liquor on flights.
Although liquor would not be sold duty-free like in the international lounge, excise department officials said passengers from other states would be interested in buying alcohol from Bengal as the price of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) was slashed by 20-25 per cent following a reduction in excise duty.
The price of high-end imported liquor or bottled-in-origin (BIOs) is also sold at lower prices compared to other cities like Hyderabad or Bangalore.
A 750ml bottle of a reputable single malt whisky brand is sold in Bengal at Rs 5,800. Its prices in Hyderabad and Bangalore are Rs 8,630 and Rs 7,160, respectively.
“As a result, a large number of customers travelling to those states are purchasing alcohol from our outlet at the Andal airport,” said a Bevco official, adding that the volume of sale of liquor would be huge if such an outlet was opened in Calcutta.
“There are only a few flights flying out of the Andal Airport and the sale is outstanding. You can easily imagine the response when such an outlet comes up at the domestic lounge of the Calcutta airport,” he added.
Sources said the domestic terminal of the Delhi airport has a liquor outlet. However, such an outlet in a domestic airport in Andal is the first in Bengal.
