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Facilities Leadership Drives Revenue Protection as Airport Concessions Expand at JFK
Injamul Talukder, General Manager at MERA Corporation, explains why dedicated in-house facilities expertise is the first line of defense against downtime and lost revenue in high-throughput airport concessions.
Key Points
High-throughput venues are moving beyond reactive, vendor-reliant maintenance toward in-house, real-time facilities leadership.
Injamul Talukder, General Manager at MERA Corporation, says teams must pair hands-on technical expertise with leadership and digital tools.
He believes that protecting revenue, streamlining multi-team operations, and enhancing guest experience depends on proactive management, integrated technology, and skilled, empowered staff.
Facilities issues happen every single minute. If you don’t have someone in-house who knows the equipment and the codes, you’re losing revenue in real time.
In airport concessions, facilities management is a strategic driver of performance. At busy terminals, a single breakdown can quickly disrupt operations, affect the guest experience, and hit revenue before a service ticket is even filed. For operators managing multiple brands under one roof, facilities decisions are a daily business priority, balancing costs, uptime, and overall profitability.
Injamul Talukder is the General Manager at MERA Corporation, which operates concessions across airports, cruise ports, and entertainment venues. He currently oversees high-volume operations at the new JFK Terminal 8, ensuring efficiency and profitability. Talukder also brings experience from Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corporation and fast-paced food service operations, including Dave's Hot Chicken, giving him broad expertise in managing complex, high-traffic environments.
As MERA Corporation expands into the newly opened JFK Terminal 8, Talukder is hiring the location’s first dedicated facilities manager, stressing that the role is critical to operational performance from day one. “Facilities issues happen every single minute. If you don’t have someone in-house who knows the equipment and the codes, you’re losing revenue in real time," says Talukder.
Minute-by-minute impact: Every maintenance decision at an airport terminal has immediate consequences. Unlike a single restaurant, a terminal’s concessions are interconnected, and equipment issues don’t wait for slow periods. “Even a small failure can quickly disrupt food service and the guest experience,” Talukder explains. “Having facilities leadership on site ensures problems are resolved immediately, protecting both operations and revenue.” Relying on outside vendors or contractors introduces delays that a high-traffic terminal cannot afford.
The espresso effect: In-house expertise directly protects revenue at the unit level. Talukder points to a busy coffee shop in the terminal as an example. “If the main espresso machine breaks, calling an outside repair team could take one to two weeks,” he says. “Having a dedicated facilities manager keeps the shop open and profitable. They know the equipment inside and out and keep both operations and revenue running.” In a high-traffic terminal where passengers have alternatives nearby, that quick response can be the difference between a minor disruption and a significant, sustained loss.
Building on-site expertise from day one is a strategic growth move. As MERA expands into Terminal 8, Talukder is establishing the facilities team proactively, rather than waiting for problems to occur. Having technical expertise in-house from the start ensures the team is fully familiar with equipment, compliance requirements, and terminal layout before operations reach full capacity. This upfront investment directly protects revenue and supports smooth, efficient operations.
Multi-unit mastery: Managing multiple concessions requires expertise and coordination that is hard to replicate by outside contractors. A dedicated facilities manager oversees several food and beverage units, handling vendor relationships, ensuring compliance, and resolving issues before they escalate. “Having someone in-house allows us to address problems immediately, rather than juggling contractors or waiting for approvals,” Talukder says. This expertise not only minimizes downtime and unnecessary contractor costs but also identifies compliance risks early and keeps new unit openings on schedule, protecting both revenue and operational efficiency.
From the ground up: Talukder hires facilities managers with a specialized skill set for a reason. “Most facilities managers come from construction,” he explains. “Having someone with hands-on expertise in-house eliminates middlemen, ensures compliance, and optimizes vendor costs because they understand exactly what the work requires.”
Operator plus leader: Talukder looks to hire people with engineering or electrical backgrounds and develop their leadership potential in-house. “We look for someone with the right experience and then help them grow,” he says. “They can handle repairs themselves without calling an electrician.” But managing multiple units successfully requires more than fixing problems. “You need the skills to operate, but also the leadership ability to manage a team under pressure.” Overseeing invoices, coordinating contractors, and setting standards across a multi-unit portfolio all require strong leadership. “When leadership is effective, operations run smoothly, and every minute of work delivers more value.”
To manage complex operations, more facilities leaders are adopting technology. Software and AI help teams anticipate issues, make data-driven decisions, and optimize performance across multiple units. Talukder points to facilities management software as a force multiplier that allows teams to oversee complex portfolios more efficiently and protect both operations and revenue.
The digital advantage: As technology adoption grows, the gap between digitally equipped facilities teams and those still relying on manual processes is widening. “In multi-unit operations, there’s a lot of equipment to manage. Using software to track work and invoices has a direct impact on efficiency and cost control,” Talukder explains. AI-driven predictive maintenance takes it further, allowing teams to anticipate problems instead of reacting to them. “These tools enhance operations, reduce downtime, and make day-to-day management more effective, protecting both revenue and productivity,” he says.
Talukder’s approach shows that in-house expertise, strong leadership, and proactive management are essential to protecting revenue and ensuring smooth operations. From quickly resolving equipment issues to coordinating multiple units, vendors, and compliance requirements, a skilled facilities team directly drives efficiency, cost control, and overall performance. Leveraging digital tools and predictive maintenance allows teams to anticipate problems, reduce downtime, and maximize operational value. “Facilities issues happen every single minute, so knowing how to handle those problems is really important,” Talukder concludes.
