The State Duma introduced a bill on the sale of alcohol in domestic airport terminals

The government submitted to the State Duma bill, which are proposed to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages in airport stores for passengers on domestic flights until June 30, 2026. The amendments are designed to support Russian international airport operators and duty-free shop owners who have suffered serious losses during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as after the imposition of sanctions. Currently, alcohol is sold only in the waiting areas of international terminals.

According to the text of the document, the sale of alcoholic beverages is proposed to be allowed to the owners of MBTs located in the waiting rooms of domestic departures, in the baggage claim halls of arrivals for domestic air transportation of passengers and in the baggage claim halls located in the transport security zones of international airports in Russia.

It is expected that alcoholic products imported into Russia for sale in the MBT will be marked with federal special marks before shipment to customs warehouses. In this case, the owner of the IBT who owns the warehouse must be included in the register of owners of customs warehouses, and the location of the warehouse itself is included in the license for the retail sale of alcohol by the relevant persons. The warehouse must also be located in the territories designated by the government for conducting an experiment on labeling alcohol imported into Russia.

The explanatory note notes that from 2019 to 2022, the volume of retail sales of alcoholic beverages in duty-free stores decreased by 64%, and the number of MBT owners decreased by 20%. The authorities also noted that, under the conditions of sanctions, MBT owners cannot return goods to their main suppliers due to the closure of logistics corridors with European countries. Additionally, airport rentals account for an average of 30% of the duty free industry’s revenue.