Kolkata: Flyers at the city airport can now buy a cup of tea or an easy-to-carry 500 ml bottle of water for Rs 10, a cup of coffee, samosa, or sweet of the day for Rs 20.
Kolkata airportwhich faced criticism for lack of affordable food and beverage options, on Saturady got the country’s first Udan Yatri Cafe —a first-of-its-kind budget-friendly café—where flyers can have a snack without burning a hole in the pocket. Civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu inaugurated the kiosk in the departure lounge before the security hold area.
In other outlets, a basic breakfast of sandwiches and a drink or idli and filter coffee costs over Rs 400. A family of four has to cough up Rs 1,600. A 1-litre water bottle is usually priced at Rs 100.
In Sept, former Union finance minister P Chidambaram had raised concerns about costly food and beverages at Kolkata airport, echoing several travellers’ grievances. He criticized being charged Rs 340 for a “simple tea bag in hot water”. Following numerous similar complaints, the Airports Authority of India decided to establish a “common man’s cafe” at the airport. “This food stop will allow more people to have proper food and beverages for less. This is a pilot project. If successful, we will replicate it at other airports,” said Naidu. “The idea is no flyer should go hungry.”
Naidu said the Prime Minister’s vision was “hawai chappal se hawai jahaaz ka safar” as the government introduced more cheap flights under the Udan scheme, connecting smaller towns to metros.
Regular flyers were happy but said such cafes should come up in the security hold area, where people get time to eat. “When we enter, we are in a rush to finish check-in and security check. We can relax after that,” said Soumya Dasgupta, a regular flyer.