'Its just hot water ...': Tea for Rs 340 at this airport shocks ex-minister P Chidambaram, travelers

KOLKATA: Former Union finance minister P Chidambaram on Saturday flagged the issue of overpriced food and beverage at Kolkata airport. The issue had been raised multiple times in the past by flyers. TOI had also written about it.

“I just discovered that Tea made of Hot Water and a Tea Bag costs Rs 340 in Kolkata airport. The restaurant is ‘The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf’. A couple of years ago I found that ‘hot water and tea bag’ cost Rs 80 in Chennai airport, and I tweeted about it. AAI took note and took corrective steps,” Chidambaram wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Kolkata airport in reply to Chidambaram’s post replied, “Sir, we have noted the price discrepancy you have mentioned. We will look into the matter and update you shortly. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.”


Later, American coffee chain The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf said they had been operating a mix of international, national and local brands. “Each brand has its own standards with regards to the taste and experience. Each of the brands has various price points as per brand standards. Prices are displayed prominently on all menu displays. Each brand has its own brand standards and processes about quality, hygiene, quantity, etc which needs to be uniform across all the units operational across various regions in India and abroad,” the store official said.

While the brand claimed it had various outlets at airports with pricing starting from Rs 20 onwards, flyers who use Kolkata airport said F&B prices were extremely high. An airport official said the management would review the situation at Kolkata airport but pointed out that the F&B outlets were leased by a master franchisee, and hence, AAI had little control over the prices.

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