Aer Rianta International (ARI), a subsidiary of the Dublin Airport Authority, has signed a joint venture deal with Indian firm Flemingo Dutyfree, which already operates some outlets at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. It is understood that the new joint venture will also be exploring opportunities in other cities, such as Mumbai. The lease to operate stores in Delhi's airport is currently held by the India Tourism Development Corporation.

That lease expires next month.

The DAA subsidiary has been one of the major successes of the state company. In the past two decades it has stretched its presence to countries including Russia, Canada, Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt and Beirut and Serbia. In 2005, Aer Rianta International, which also owns stakes in airports in Birmingham, Dusseldorf and Hamburg, reported a profit of 17.4m, up from 9.6m the previous year. Commercial operations generated revenues of over 344m in 2005, while overseas operations accounted for income of 72.7m. The company also operates 10 stores at terminal 4 in New York's JFK airport.

Flemingo operates a number of outlets in airports and ports around India, including Bangalore and Amristar. It also has operations in Kenya, Tanzania, Sri Lanka and Dubai. According to Flemingo, the average spend in duty-free shops internationally is about $14 per person while in India, it is among the lowest, at $2 per head.

The link with Aer Rianta International was understood to have been inked following an Enterprise Ireland trade mission to India earlier this year.