GMR to develop, operate & manage duty-free outlets at Kannur Airport

GMR Airports Limited (GAL) has signed concession agreement with Kannur International Airport Limited (KIAL) to develop, operate, maintain and  manage the duty-free outlets at Kannur International Airport on an exclusive basis.

Under the concession agreement, GAL would design, finance and operate the Duty-Free shops at Kannur International Airport for a period of 7 years, which is extendable by 3 more years. This is the first duty-free concession outside GMR’s airport portfolio.

At present, the company operates such outlets at major airports like Delhi and Hyderabad.

A significant number of diaspora from the Kannur region works in the Middle East, and Kannur international airport caters to their flying requirements, said GAL.

The Kannur airport began its commercial operations in December 2018 and handled one million passengers in just nine months after its commissioning. It handled around 1.14 million passengers between April 2019 and November 2019, of which around 0.54 million were international passengers.

Kannur is an important city in the state of Kerala. The city is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur District and situated 518 km north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram.