Dublin Airport lounges closed until 30 September – a bit excessive, don’t you think?

July 7, 2020

a large room with a large ceiling and a large chandelier

Out of the five lounges at Dublin Airport, four of them are operated by the airport. The only airline operated facility is the Aer Lingus Lounge in Terminal 2. Right now, it’s all lounges closed, which is not too much of a surprise.

What is a bit of a surprise is the fact the lounges are closed through to 30 September. This means there is nowhere for premium passengers – or those who wish to pay for access – to relax before flight. Why the extended closure?

Lounges Closed In Dublin, But Not Elsewhere

Having the lounges closed makes sense, as no-one has been flying for the past few months. However, Europe is opening up and even Ireland looks to follow suit, with news that non-essential travel is to be avoided through to 20 July, after which the Irish can fly.

There are a number of airlines serving Dublin at the moment, in addition to the Irish airlines Aer Lingus and Ryanair. These include Qatar Airways, Lufthansa, Air France, United Airlines, KLM, airBaltic, TAP Air Portugal, Blue Air, and Croatia Airlines. The list will only grow as the month passes.

Dublin Airport says no lounge for you, buddy!

Over in London, British Airways are operating one lounge in Terminal 5, while Qantas is doing the same around the major domestic ports in Australia. Various other airline lounges are open as well.

While it would not make sense to open all the lounges, perhaps one would be enough to cater for everyone. I would not be a fan of flying out of Dublin and not having lounge access.

Overall Thoughts

Keeping the lounges closed through to 30 September sounds like overkill to me. I am sure the lounge staff are hotly awaiting going back to work for one, and frequent flyers will certainly appreciate it. They say “the date may change” so let’s hope that is pulled back to somewhere in early to mid-August.

While the Irish government is trying to push everyone to stay home this summer and not travel, I can’t see that sticking. I’m already booked away at the end of August myself and I daresay others are doing the same. Opening at least one lounge in Dublin makes sense. While it won’t be the excellent 51st & Green lounge, any of them will do.

What do you think of the Dublin Airport lounges being closed until 30 September? A logical date or something you’d change? Will this affect your travel plans at all? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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