KOLKATA: A number of retail and food outlets inside Kolkata airport, which were shut for several months owing to low footfall after the second wave of the Covid pandemic, haven’t gone the same route after the third wave, as they are hopeful of a pre-pandemic footfall, thanks to the slow increase in passenger count after the decline in Covid numbers.
Between April and October last year, a number of major brands had suspended operations and had kept the outlets shut for months, inconveniencing passengers. But these had reopened, with the airport starting to clock 50,000-plus passengers on an average till the fourth week of December. Then, however, came the third wave, immediately cutting down passenger footfall and airlines adjusting daily flights accordingly. But the retail and food outlets still remained open, even with fewer takers over the past six weeks, hopeful of a business turnaround in the coming weeks, anticipating the footfall to soon reach pre-pandemic numbers.
