At its simplest, the airport duty-free business started as a refuelling operation in the west of Ireland: while the aircraft took on gasoline, the passengers took on dinner, cigarettes, liquor and souvenirs before crossing the Atlantic to Newfoundland. The goods were supplied free of tax and duty because the airport was located in a Free Zone at Shannon, set up in 1947 to bring some measure of prosperity to a depressed part of the country. The small store was the brainchild of Brendan O’Regan, who was in charge of the Shannon Airport Catering Service. In addition to operating a first-class restaurant (for passengers who could afford to fly were clearly used to first-class facilities) he opened a small gift kiosk, and this outlet has claimed a place in history as the worlds first airport duty-free shop.

However, retailing did not gain in importance until 1950 when O’Regan took part in a study group which toured the US under the Marshall Aid scheme to learn more about the expectations of American air passengers who were starting to visit Europe in increasing numbers Shannon was used by more than 90% of the sir traffic between Europe and North America to allow for fuelling). O’Regan returned on the liner America where he noted the duty-free ship shop and realised that a similar outlet at Shannon might bring in much needed revenue.

\the first shop at Shannon has a 1.8m counter and offered a selection of gifts and souvenirs, and took almost £5 on a good day in 1947.

O’Regan’s first application for permission for duty-free retailing was turned down but the Ministry of Trade and Commerce supported the idea, which aroused intense opposition from Customs and local traders. However, guarantees on strict monitoring of the movement of goods appeased Customs, and the local shopkeepers realised that the passengers were in transit so they were not losing trade, and permission was granted and the world’s first duty-free liquor store opened alongside the original gift store in 1952. By 1953 Shannon was achieving $30 spend per head, thanks to the wealth of the passengers and in that year achieved sales of £120,000. In 1954 crystal, linen, tweeds and cashmere and some electronics were added and annual sales rose to £200,000. The final step was to add fragrances and watches.

The first to follow Shannon’s example was Alberto Motta, a well-established ship supplier, wholesaler and downtown retailer in Panama. He had opened a duty-paid store at Panama airport in 1950, but after visiting Shannon opened a duty-free liquor store and a gift store in the Panama airport terminal in 1954.

In Europe in the mid-1950s, the team at Schiphol (Amsterdam) airport were given the task of building non-aviation revenues to between 30-40% of the airport’s total earnings. The first duty-free outlets opened in 1957 and 1958 operated by KLM (which already had experience of inflight sales) and by Kappe Both still operate there today.

The importance of duty and tax-free retailing as a non-aviation revenue stream today cannot be overstated. It plays a significant role in generating income to finance long-term infrastructure projects, whilst providing the travelling public with a service - and a lot of pleasure.