NEW ZEALAND. In this new series to close out 2020, we put the focus on the heroes and heroines who stood up as a global pandemic raged and ensured that travel retail store and restaurant environments were safe and hygienic, that shelves were stocked and that customers – though few in number – could still enjoy a memorable shopping experience, even in constrained conditions.
With the assistance and input of our partners at airport companies, airlines, travel retailers, brands, airport promotion agencies and others, we present the stories of some of those individuals and teams who ensured that a pulse still beat through travel retail this year. As reported in The Moodie Davitt eZine, we salute these front line workers as our People of the Year, with our online coverage building on the pictorial in our year-end edition.
Here, we feature some of the superb shop staff at The Loop Duty Free, operated by Aer Rianta International at Auckland Airport.
Travel retail in Australasia has been as hard hit by COVID-19 as any region of the world, with passengers passing through airports at a bare minimum as the Australian and New Zealand governments restrict travel.
However, Aer Rianta International has maintained service throughout much of this year at one of its three The Loop Duty Free stores at Auckland Airport. This has mainly served repatriation flights leaving New Zealand and those few passengers travelling for other reasons.
Watch out for more stories this week in which we recognise the front line workers of the aviation and travel retail sectors.
