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Will food delivery services, such as Deliveroo, become more common in airport terminals?

On-demand delivery has so far gained limited traction in airports - although a number have tried. Among the front runners were Dubai Airport who partnered with Deliveroo to trial services in 2017. DeliverooDXB allowed passengers to get fresh food `delivered within minutes to their boarding gate'. Amsterdam Schiphol (also with Deliveroo) and Toronto Pearson (UberEats) have piloted similar offerings to gauge viability and demand. However, prior to Covid-19 there was little evidence that these delivery options had taken off in a major way in airport terminals.

We explore how barriers to providing these services might be overcome, and how changing consumer behaviour can provide a tailwind for airport food delivery to become a reality.

Awareness
Given that delivery services in airports are a relatively new concept, passengers are often unaware that such services are even available, or do not understand how they function. During the journey through the airport, passengers might not have the appropriate app downloaded to access the service and might feel more comfortable using familiar physical units in the terminal.

Providing physical marketing of the services available in advance of passengers arriving at their departure gates will help drive awareness and usage. Research by Lumina Intelligence suggests that QR usage in restaurants increased 250% in 2020. As digital channels become more common throughout the airport journey, passengers might be more willing to engage with delivery apps. For example, utilising QR codes to access a mobile optimised web page, such as Miami2Go, or LAXShopDine, which were both developed in partnership with the airports. Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Airports (URW) and Grab, removes the requirement to have the app, thus making the offer even more accessible.

Commercial viability
The existing business model of delivery services operates by charging a fee to restaurants (usually between 20% and 30% of the bill total), as well as a delivery charge to the end customer. Within an airport ecosystem - in which the airport charge concession fees on sales - this might quickly become unviable for the restaurant given the precarious margins involved, or unpalatable for the customer if the charges are passed on.

A different model – with airports and aggregators reducing their fees for mobile orders – might therefore be required within this environment to improve convenience for passengers.

Operational constraints
Delivering direct to departure gate also introduces operational challenges both for the airport and food suppliers themselves. There is concern by some about the additional cleaning services or facilities to dispose of excess waste which will be required at gates to maintain a hygienic environment for all passengers. However, as cleaning is already required, and needing to be even more visible in the current environment, it is likely that only a slight increase will be required to the existing cleaning regime.

For retailers, as kitchen space is often already very constrained in airports, providing additional delivery services could be challenging. Creative use of space, such as dark kitchens in less prime locations which exist solely to serve delivery customers, could help overcome this challenge. Many airports already operate a central kitchen where the majority of food preparation is done, and there may be capacity to increase the size of these kitchens or utilise existing space.

Passenger demand
Finally, the number of passengers passing through the terminal will need to be sufficiently large to justify the outlay required for delivery services. Large international terminals with high volumes of departing passengers who find themselves a long way from the F&B they desire are more likely to have the critical mass of people with sufficient dwell time compared to smaller terminals where the offer is always within easy reach. So, whilst these terminals may consider online ordering, it may be for collection only.

There are numerous challenges to introducing food delivery services into airport departure terminals, which helps explain why they remain relatively uncommon. Nonetheless, as airport operators recover from the pandemic, services such as these – which offer passengers greater convenience through digital interfaces and facilitate social distancing – will become both more relevant and viable.

Ed Newton & Jamie Parker