Swedish airports seeks permit for arrivals liquor sales

Emily Pacey

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Copenhagen Airports threatens to follow suit if the Swedish government grants airport retailers the right to sell duty-free liquor to arriving passengers

State-owned Swedish airport authority Luftfartsverket (LFV) is seeking permission from the government to sell duty-free liquor to international arrivals passengers. If its request is granted, Copenhagen Airports says that it too will place pressure on the Danish government to allow arrivals liquor sales.

LFV has proposed that for passengers within the EU, alcohol purchases should be taxed at regular Swedish rates, while passengers arriving at airports from destinations outside the EU should be allowed to buy alcohol duty- and tax-free.

If its request is successful, Sweden will be in breach of an agreement signed between Norway, Sweden and Denmark in 1980 not to introduce arrivals duty-free stores. Norway was the first to break the agreement when it introduced arrivals shopping in July 2005.

Copenhagen Airports vice-president commercial affairs Henrik Busch told RavenFox.com: “We are following the developments in Sweden very closely and will be putting pressure on our government if the Swedes are successful in their request.”

LFV, which runs Sweden’s major airports, plans to start selling duty-free liquor at Arlanda International airport, where The Nuance Group is the duty-free operator, before rolling out the intitiative to other airports.