Ferries, airports report brisk duty-free sale before deadline

Cross-Channel ferry companies and airports around the Republic have been reporting brisk business in their duty-free stores as passengers stock up before the end of duty-free sales for internal EU travel on Wednesday.

Outlets have been "extremely busy", with some passengers travelling specifically to avail of the last chance to get their favourite tipple tax-free within the EU.

While duty-free ends on Wednesday for travel between EU countries, the shops will remain open in airports and on ferries and passengers will be able to buy cigarettes, alcohol etc.

However, only passengers on their way to countries outside the EU will still be able to purchase duty-free. The only exemptions within the EU will be for passengers travelling to the Isle of Man, the Channel Isles or the Canaries.

The Stena Line ferry company has seen a "feeding frenzy" in its duty-free shops over the past two weeks, according to the company's spokesman, Mr Eamonn Hewitt.

So busy have they been that stores on its ferries which operate on the Dun Laoghaire/DublinHolyhead, Rosslare-Pembroke and Belfast-Stranraer routes ran out of some brands.

Irish Ferries has also been operating at full capacity.

Its day-trip allocations were fully booked, which Mr Pat Foran, in the Dublin reservation office, said was unusual. There would normally be space for passengers turning up on the day.

He said most day-trippers over the past few days have been adults. "This would seem to indicate that passengers of the past week have been travelling for duty-free."

The Dublin-Holyhead day trip takes passengers out of Dublin at 9.45 a.m., arriving in Holyhead at 1.15 p.m. The return sailing to Dublin is at 3.45 p.m.

"Holyhead," Mr Moran said, "is not exactly the metropolis of Wales. You really are only sailing for the point of getting on the boat for the day."

Irish Ferries operates between Dublin and Holyhead; Rosslare and Pembroke; and from Rosslare to Cherbourg and Roscoff. On Saturday, the Dublin-Holyhead sailing carried almost 300 day-trippers, with similar numbers on other routes.

The duty-free shop at Dublin Airport has been extremely busy over the past 10 days, said a spokeswoman. "There seems to be an air of panic-buying of cigarettes, alcohol and beauty products in particular."

Mr Pat Conway, the duty manager at Shannon Airport duty-free shop, said passengers "were obviously conscious that it's their last chance to buy duty-free in Europe".

An Aer Rianta spokesman at Cork Airport said:

"According to our sales people, passengers are buying up to their limits, conscious maybe that this could be their last chance to get cigarettes and alcohol cheap."