24x7 liquor store opened at Delhi airport

24x7 liquor store reopens at Delhi airport's Terminal 3 after 2 years. Operated by Delhi govt, accessible only for T3 domestic arrivals.

A 24x7 liquor store was thrown open for public in the domestic arrival wing of Terminal 3 at Indira Gandhi International airport on Saturday evening — nearly two years after it was shut due to change in excise policy following a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy 2021-2022.

The excise department issued L10 liquor license to the Delhi Consumer’s Cooperative Wholesale Store Ltd, one of the four government agencies running all the liquor stores in the state, to open a retail liquor store. DCCWS is operating around 140 retail liquor stores in different parts of the city. (HT Photo)

This is for the first time that the Delhi government will run the liquor store, which will be accessible only for those landing at the airport’s T3 domestic arrival.

The excise department issued L10 liquor license to the Delhi Consumer’s Cooperative Wholesale Store Ltd, one of the four government agencies running all liquor stores in the state. DCCWS is operating around 140 retail liquor stores in different parts of the city.

The store will be open 24x7 but will not be accessible for the general public unless they are landing at T3. International arrivals separately have access to the duty-free shops.

“The liquor store is a self service store, with a walk in experience to the customers in around 750 sq ft area. All national and international whisky, beer, gin, and vodka brands, along with other varieties registered with the excise department of the Delhi government, are available,” said an official aware of the matter.

The official quoted above said comparative rate chart of different liquors being sold in other parts of county will also be displayed through an LED screen to facilitate general customers. All kind of payment facilities like UPI, credit and debit cards have been made available at the store.

Under the now scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22, multiple liquor stores were run by private players in domestic terminals which were closed in August 2022 when the policy was scrapped following the CBI inquiry.