Today while passing through the Mumbai domestic terminal, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. There was a long line before entering the terminal building as well as pressure on the security check line. Subsequently when I entered the retail area and the lounge, i found they are empty. Though the peak times for any lounge is between 5-7am and 6-8pm. But today i was at the peak time of business, but the lounge had just 2/3 people.
What could have been the reason?
It is in fact simple. Whenever there is pressure/traffic build up at the two high stress points in an airport, it will translate into dip in retail. Travellers would like to rush to the gates after a stressful check in. The last thing they would like to happen is to miss the flights. The reverse happens when the two critical stress points have less pressure.
If our airport operators must understand that sales is inversely proportional to the amount of stress which builds up in a traveller as he/she enters the building. If they look into this specific issues, it will be of great use.
