Chandigarh airport set to get passenger lounge bars

Sanjay Bumbroo

Tribune News Service

Mohali, January 31

The Chandigarh international airport would soon have passenger lounge bars at its international and domestic departures as the Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL) has allotted the site to a Delhi-based company for the operation and handling of the lounge bars.

According to information, the company will start the operations within a month.

The High Court in September, 2016, had directed the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to approach the CITCO for setting up lounges at the Chandigarh airport. It said that the CITCO would operate executive lounges at the international and domestic terminals and commercial rates were charged for the allotted areas as licence fee.

In December 2016, the CITCO had opened two food outlets at the airport at a monthly rental of Rs 10 lakh for both the outlets. The CITCO had suspended the operation of the international and domestic lounge at the Chandigarh international airport citing non-viability on August 10, 2019 as it had incurred Rs 50 lakh losses in running the outlet for international passengers because of low business volume.

However, when the CITCO found that the passengers do not have time to visit the lounges as there was no stopover of flights at the airport it prayed to the CHIAL to allot the internal and domestic lounges on long-term lease on rental basis.

In November 2017, the CHIAL extended the allotment of executive lounges to the CITCO for five years till 2021 and increased the licence fee by 10 per cent.

Later, the CITCO decided to surrender its international lounge after giving a 30-day notice as it had incurred huge losses. However, it retained the domestic lounge.

On July 2, the CHIAL issued a notice for the termination of space allotted for the domestic lounge to the CITCO on grounds that the latter had not fulfilled the conditions of the licence, including the termination of license qua international lounge and thus, CITCO was directed to vacate the domestic lounge by August 10.

The CITCO had moved Chandigarh Court against the notice of the Chandigarh International Airport Limited. The latter in its reply stated that the CITCO “cannot be permitted to blow hot and cold in the same breath,” as they had withdrawn from operating the international lounge.

It further stated that both the international as well as domestic lounges were allotted to the CITCO as a single unit and it was CHIAL’s right to withdraw the operation of the domestic lounge.