Duty free has its starting place in Shannon Airport in Ireland. Once upon a time, this was one of the world’s most important airports. It was the gateway between North and South America and Europe. After the Second World War, transatlantic travel began. Most planes stopped in Shannon – carrying politicians, actors and business personalities. They all stopped for refuelling in Shannon.
And its starting time was 1947. As Head of Catering at the airport, Brendan O’Regan was the right man at the right place at the right time. With the right passengers passing through, he set up the world’s first duty free shop. Originally duty free was for crews only – who then sold the goods on to passengers. Soon afterwards, passengers made their own duty free purchases at tax free prices.
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