Duty-Free Shops Are Now Customer-Free

Concessionaires and duty-free shops at LAX were hard hit Thursday by a ban on carrying liquids aboard flights.

With duty-free sales of liquids under a complete prohibition for much of the day, sales clerks awkwardly warned customers against buying expensive liquor, perfumes and creams.

“I’m sorry. We cannot sell this today,” one saleswoman told a startled traveler shopping for body lotion at Los Angeles International Airport.

Although regular concessionaires were allowed to sell drinks and other items, passengers who had been told not to bring beverages onto aircraft appeared to be avoiding airport stores altogether.

“They’re just afraid when it comes to buying anything,” said Damien Morris, an independent contractor for airport shops, as he gazed at a sparsely visited store. “Today’s going to hurt. I hope this ends soon, because it’s hurting everybody.”

Shops and airports had much at stake in the middle of a busy travel season. Concessionaires generate 25%, or $122.1 million, of LAX revenue; more than 40% of that from food, beverage and duty-free sales.

By midafternoon, there was some good news as the Transportation Security Administration lifted the ban on duty-free sales. All purchases, however, had to be hand-carried onto flights by duty-free shop employees. Under the old rules, employees delivered packages to passengers at the gates.

The scene at LAX was mirrored across the country. Simon Falic, chairman of Duty Free Americas, based in Hollywood, Fla., said he had shut down liquor and perfume sales early Thursday in about a dozen airports, including those in New York City, Washington, Chicago and Miami. Liquor and perfume make up about 75% of duty-free sales, he said.

“Definitely, it makes a big impact on us,” Falic said.

At LAX, tourists dissuaded from buying luxury goods were dismayed.

“Oh my goodness!” said Amy Lee, 50, after a clerk told her that she could not sell any of the $125 and $140 bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon the Shanghai tourist had been eyeing.

Saleswomen worried privately about making their monthly quotas, and confusion reigned over how to enforce the new policy.

At one point, duty-free shop employees in the international terminal were telling passengers they could buy liquor or cosmetics, as long as the items weighed less than 4 ounces. But by noon, the employees had reversed themselves, instructing passengers that all sales were off.

“It affects all skin care, a lot of lip [products] -- it’s not good,” said a glum Emily Shaffer, a cosmetics saleswoman at a DFS duty-free store in the Tom Bradley International Terminal.

“Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays are the height of traffic in the stores,” said Yanay Proenza, a DFS manager, scanning the light foot traffic in the sales area around 11 a.m. “This is what it should look like at night.”

Joseph Lyons, a DFS vice president, said he was uncertain how long it might take for airport shops to recover from Thursday’s chaos.

“We really don’t know how this is going to play out,” he said. “Liquor, wine, perfume are important parts of the business. Everyone right now is trying to get the business back and trying to get things under control here.”

By late Thursday, some merchants had noticed one hopeful sign.

As flight wait times lengthened, passengers started buying beverages.

Jean Wright, 47, picked up a bottle of water as she waited for a flight to London.

“We’ve got a three-hour wait between now and when we board,” she said. “So we’re going to drink it then.”