Operating restaurants and bars in airports presents unique challenges and opportunities that distinguish these eateries from the broader food and beverage industry. Unlike traditional establishments that rely on repeat customers and local foot traffic, airport venues serve a captive but transient audience with specific time constraints and behavioral patterns.
These operators must navigate complex lease structures with airport authorities, comply with stringent security regulations, manage higher operational costs due to location premiums and logistical constraints, and adapt to irregular customer flow patterns that fluctuate with flight schedules and seasonal travel trends. At the same time, airport eateries need to provide quick service alongside a quality meal to time-pressed travelers.
We spoke with Paradies Lagardère—a leading North American travel retailer and restaurateur with 170 restaurants and bars in more than 100 airports—to learn how today’s airport kitchens and bars are pushing the boundaries, capitalizing on trends, and leading the way for changes in the overall hospitality industry.
Challenges in Airport F&B
Some of the biggest challenges in airport F&B are related to security and space constraints.
When it comes to space, it’s the lack of it that can make operating challenging. “Our full-service restaurants are often no more than 2,500 square feet total—including back-of-house and storage,” says Alice Cheung, sr. director of Brands & Concepts, Paradies Lagardère Dining Division. “This pushes everyone to get creative with kitchen design and ingredient efficiency without compromising culinary quality. It's like solving a culinary puzzle, and the solutions often prove useful for urban restaurants facing similar space constraints.”
Increased security also poses a challenge. For example, steak knives are considered weapons and are not allowed in airports. This provides a challenge for upscale restaurants especially, which often serve steaks. “TSA restrictions mean guests get butter knives at best, sometimes just plastic. Instead of giving up, we work with chefs to completely rethink their approach,” says Cheung. “Maybe it's a perfect short rib that falls apart with a fork, or cooking techniques that create tender proteins that don't need sharp knives.”
The increased security also impacts restaurant staffing—starting with the hiring process. “Every single person who works in an airport must pass a 10-year federal background check. Depending on someone's work history, these checks can take weeks to come back,” explains Cheung. “So, we might have a fantastic potential hire, but they'll wait weeks before they can start working for us, while that same person could start at a street restaurant the very next day. It's incredibly difficult to engage and retain good people when they might go long periods before their first paycheck.”
Once that person is hired, they then must contend with passing through TSA security checkpoints each time they come to work, which can have long lines.
In addition to security, there’s the distances they have to travel just to reach the restaurant. Some have to park in remote lots or take public transportation. And once they’re inside the airport, they may have to take shuttles, trains, or walk long distances to reach their workplace. And all of this occurs before they get paid to be there.
Once at work, it’s an incredibly fast-paced environment. “We don't have traditional meal periods; everything depends on flight schedules. We'll get massive rushes of people, then nothing, then another surge,” says Cheung. “People who aren't looking for very quick-moving work often burn out quickly. It takes a special person to thrive in that environment.”
Travelers are exposed to the same stressors as employees, and Paradies Lagardère aims to offer dining options that allow guests to take a breath amidst the chaos.
Of course, space constraints and little-to-no control over the environment can make cultivating a relaxing guest experience difficult. Cheung says it comes down to the human element over any one design element. “We accomplish that by being the smiling face bringing someone their meal or checking them out,” says Cheung. “You can't replace that human connection with technology, no matter how advanced it gets.”
This is also why Paradies Lagardère strives to use technology in ways that “enhance service rather than replace it.”
For example, AI-powered cameras track average wait times during peak periods to optimize staffing so guests get served in a timely manner. “It's about using data to make better operational decisions,” says Cheung. “When someone's already dealing with travel stress, they usually want genuine human interaction, not another app to figure out. The real opportunity is using technology to empower our staff to provide more personalized, efficient service. It's about finding that balance where innovation supports hospitality rather than replaces it.”
Understanding the customer they’re serving also helps to cultivate a better guest experience. “We've also invested heavily in understanding different traveler segments—the personas that move through airports—because once you know who your guest is, you can provide more customized experiences, even when you're serving large populations. Some travelers want efficiency above all else, others are looking to start their vacation with that first bite, and others just need a familiar comfort food moment before a big meeting.”
Local partnerships also work to create satisfying experiences for airport diners. Paradies Lagardère works with chefs like Cat Cora, Jonathon Stranger, and Karen Akunowicz to adapt their concepts for airports. “These collaborations create new dining formats that work within airport constraints while maintaining authentic culinary voices,” says Cheung.
Like their culinary counterparts on the street, price sensitivity is another hurdle airport eateries must deal with. It’s a running joke that airport food and beverage is dramatically higher than street prices. However, Cheung challenges that punchline. “Most airports' pricing policies allow for 10-15% above street pricing, and that's only because it's simply more expensive to operate in an airport,” she says. “We're bound by each individual airport's pricing policy—they dictate what our prices are and will audit us. We have to submit our pricing along with comparable street restaurant pricing before anything gets approved.”
Historically, business travelers have been unaffected by these price sensitivities, but Cheung says there have been changes within this demographic as well. “The old stereotype of business travelers spending freely is largely gone, especially post-COVID,” she says. “Many businesses pulled back on travel, and we saw leisure travel boom until recently. This year, travel has softened across the board, and more importantly, consumer spending is down.”
With people being more selective about where they spend their travel dollars, many are skipping extras like the cocktail or beer at the airport bar. “[This] means we have to work even harder to provide genuine value, fair pricing, and food and service that feels worth it,” says Cheung.
Innovation & Experimentation in Airport Dining
All of the challenges in airport dining can be constricting and frustrating, but they can also serve to foster innovation in unique ways.
“We're forced to think differently about everything—from menu design to service delivery—and that constraint has pushed the entire industry to become more creative,” says Cheung. “The innovation really comes from solving complex puzzles. How do you deliver chef-driven cuisine in 2,500 square feet? How do you create authentic local experiences for millions of passengers annually? These challenges are pushing everyone in airport dining to find creative solutions that often end up influencing restaurants beyond airports too.”
Cheung says the key isn't sacrificing quality for speed, but rethinking execution. “We're developing preparation techniques and flavor-building strategies that maximize impact while streamlining service,” she says. “The solutions we find—from prep techniques to strategic ingredient selection—often end up being useful for fast-casual concepts everywhere. It's a good example of how limitations can drive creative problem-solving.”
The unique setting also enables airport eateries to push the boundaries on culinary innovation. “The airport environment actually gives us permission to be more experimental because travelers are already in an exploratory mindset,” says Cheung. “We're seeing travelers embrace bold flavor innovations they might not try on the street.”
Future of Food & Beverage in Airports
Airport dining may be a microcosm of the larger industry, but it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Dining trends and consumer demands still influence menus. Cheung cited the example of the rise in craft non-alcoholic beverages, “Passengers are seeking premium experiences without the alcohol, and airports are responding because we see such diverse passenger needs every day.”
In fact, Cheung says the future of dining in airports revolves around the ability to meet the needs of this diverse consumer group using insights and technology. “We're solving challenges around space optimization, fast-fine dining, authentic local partnerships, and personalized service at scale,” she says. “The solutions that work here often prove useful for restaurants facing similar challenges elsewhere.
“Airports are becoming a testing ground for innovations that influence the broader hospitality industry,” continues Cheung. “I think airports are playing an important role in how the industry evolves.”
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