USA. The International Association of Airport Duty Free Stores (IAADFS) has called on airports to support travel retailers by suspending minimum guarantee payments from 1 March until the end of the COVID-19 crisis.
In a letter to airport partners on 19 March, IAADFS President and CEO Michael Payne said: “We are all facing extremely difficult challenges in view of the COVID-19 pandemic confronting our world and every sector of the national economy. Few businesses are more affected than airports and their partner organisations.”
Underlining the urgency of the situation for retailers, he continued: “The companies that comprise the duty free and travel retail sectors are suffering devastating consequences as a result of the dramatic decline in airline passengers.
“Our members have reached out individually to numerous airports seeking assistance and collaborative discussions to help address the requirements they face for guaranteed payments to airports, even in the absence of sufficient passenger numbers.”
IAADFS is seeking “an impactful and rapid decision by airport authorities and their leadership” to partner with duty free and travel retail partners to offset the worst of the crisis. “We recognise that airports are also experiencing significant consequences. We are all suffering, and we are all in this crisis together.”
Calling for urgent relief for members, Payne said: “We are requesting that airports suspend, effective 1 March until the end of the national emergency, guarantee payments that are predicated on specific minimum passenger numbers.
“Clearly these are historic and unprecedented times during which we need to come together as a global business community to address the decrease in passenger retail traffic that is the lifeblood of airports’ and duty free operators’ businesses.”
IAADFS highlighted the thousands of jobs that the industry supports, and said the period ahead will influence the solvency of airports’ duty free business partners.
“We look forward to tackling this problem together and know that our airport and travel retail community will rise to this challenge, engage with our members and adopt whatever measures are necessary to secure the long-term success of our airports and the duty free & travel retail industry.”
