Passengers arriving into Finland's Helsinki Airport will now have the option of being greeted by groceries.
In a 6-month pilot starting September 15th, the airport will be partnering with online grocery store Alepa's Kauppakassi to delier groceries to arriving passengers.
Passengers can complete their orders online, and then have the ordered groceries awaiting in the arrivals hall. Lockers will be set up to ensure freshness, including cold boxes for those items that need to be maintained at a lower temperature.
Anne Gullstén, director of passenger services at Finavia:
We want to make the travel experience easy and smooth right up to the door of your home. As part of this, we are strongly developing Helsinki Airport as a shopping location in order to be able to meet the various needs of our passengers. Alepa's Kauppakassi is an excellent addition to our expanding service range. I'm glad that we can offer our customers yet another new way to use services – and the first in the Nordic countries to do so.
This concept continues the trend of airports delivering more passenger-focused services that enhance the air travel experience. By allowing passengers to pre-order groceries online, the airport is ensuring a softer landing once the passenger (and potential the family) have returned home to an empty fridge.
Kiosks continue to boost profits at airports, and as consumer expectations for in-airport services become more sophisticated, expect to see an increase in kiosk deployments worldwide.