New Delhi, Feb 28 Parliamentarian Raghav Chadha on Friday welcomed the inauguration of affordable canteen facilities at the airports, with the latest being opened at Chennai airport, and extended congratulations to all those who contributed to bringing a "paradigm change" to the way airports cater to common citizens.
The AAP Rajya Sabha member took to social media to share pictures of the highly subsidised canteen opened at the Chennai airport and expressed happiness over the move.
"Glad to see affordable food canteens being set up at Airports. Grateful to everyone who supported my demand for affordable food and drinks at airports. Congratulations to each one of you - every drop together makes the ocean rise," he wrote in a post on social media platform X.
The cafe opened at T1 domestic terminal of Chennai airport is providing clean and cheap refreshments. The water bottle is available for Rs 10, tea for Rs 10, coffee for Rs 20 while samosa and sweet for the day for just Rs 20 each.
Notably, the first Udaan Yatri Cafe was launched on December 19 last year at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata, marking the 100th anniversary of this airport.
According to reports, the Ministry of Civil Aviation is keen on opening more such reasonable and pocket-friendly cafes, particularly after a robust response at the Kolkata airport, at the Airports Authority of India (AAI)-controlled terminals for enhancing the air travel experience and making it more accessible and inclusive.
Interestingly, the move to open the 'Udan Yatri Cafe' at the airports came soon after Chadha flagged the issue of highly inflated food and snacks at the airports and sought the government's intervention on the matter.
Raising the issue of overpriced food stalls at airports, Chadha said that such outlets were giving a difficult time to air travellers and made a forceful argument in the Rajya Sabha for bringing down the inflated costs.
"Food and snacks become two-three times more expensive at airports. A water bottle costs Rs 100 and tea is priced at Rs 200-250. Can't the government bring in a mechanism to regulate this, can't affordable canteens be brought up at airports," Chadha had said in the House, asking why the common citizens can't have the luxury of flying within their budget.
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