New Delhi:

Eating at airports is a costly affair. Food items sold at airport outlets are often overpriced, forcing many passengers to skip meals. But it may soon get easy on the pockets with the authorities planning economy zones that would sell food and beverages at an affordable price, sources said.

Unlike other restaurants in the airport, these zones will not have any seating arrangements. Passengers will have to collect their food from the counters and eat at fast-food tables. There will also be a takeaway facility.

The civil aviation minister reached a consensus to start work on the economy zones after several rounds of meetings. Discussions will now be held with the Airport Authorities of India (AAI), food outlets at airports as well as other agencies to operate such zones, they said.

Sources said such zones will first come up at the newly built airports.

Several passengers had raised concerns over overpriced food items being sold at airport outlets.

Former Union minister P Chidambaram, who was among them, said in an online post in September that a cup of tea – made with just “a tea bag and hot water” – costs Rs 340 at a well-known café that has an outlet in the Kolkata airport. Responding to him, the airport said it had noted the price discrepancy.