JAPAN. Chubu Centrair International Airport, which serves Nagoya and the Chubu region, has reported a -57% fall in duty free sales year-on-year in February, to Y848 million (US$7.6 million), as the impact of the coronavirus hits its numbers. The duty free business is operated in-house by the airport company.
Total retail and F&B sales for the month reached Y1,676 million (US$15 million), down by -46% on February 2019. Non-duty free retail and F&B were down by -25% and -27% respectively.
The sharp sales declines came against the backdrop of a -17% fall in passenger traffic to 820,373 in the month. Within this, international traffic fell by -34% while domestic travel increased by +1%. The airport commercial business relies heavily on Chinese visitor traffic, which fell sharply in February.
For the first 11 months of the fiscal year to the end of February, commercial sales reached Y38,208 million (US$343 million), a rise of +9% year-on-year. Duty free sales year-to-date are up by +10%, other shops by +4% and F&B by +10%.
Traffic in the first 11 months was 12.25 million, an increase of +10%, with international volumes climbing +11% and domestic by +8%.
Most shops and restaurants at the airport remain open, including those in the T1 international departures zone, though many are operating with restricted hours.
