Emirates Set to Reopen Its Lounges Beyond Dubai
The carrier says it will start with facilities at Cairo, New York JFK and Manchester airports
Emirates has announced the reopening of some of its airport lounges outside of its home base of Dubai International with enhanced health and safety measures in place. The airline said its facility at Cairo International Airport would be the first to reopen, followed by lounges at New York JFK and Manchester Airport “in the coming weeks.”
The vast majority of the airline’s lounges have remained closed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, although it has reopened its Terminal 3, Concourse B Dubai lounge in July. Entry into the lounge is one of the touchpoints in the airport that’s been integrated into the ‘biometric path’ that the airline is pioneering.
According to Emirates, a mix of facial and iris recognition technology has been installed at the carrier’s lounge entrance in Concourse B, in addition to selected economy, business and first class check-in desks in Terminal 3, as well as at boarding gates, and within the ‘smart tunnel’ at immigration gates
The airline said it had redesigned its lounge offering with additional health and safety measures that include a la carte dining and contactless menus activated by QR codes replacing the normal buffet service.
According to the carrier, lounge staff will sanitize each seat and table after customers leave. In addition, the lounge will be sanitized and fumigated regularly.
