Dubai’s Emirates to reopen worldwide lounges, starting with Cairo

Dubai-based carrier Emirates is re-opening its lounges around the world beginning with its lounge at Cairo International Airport.

This will be followed by the reopening of lounge services in other destinations including New York’s JFK International and Manchester Airport. Emirates has introduced additional health and safety measures, which will be rolled out across all destinations.

The buffet offering will be replaced by an a la carte service with contactless menus activated by QR code. Lounge staff will sanitise each seat and table after customers leave, throughout the day. In addition, the lounge will be sanitised and fumigated regularly.

All employees working in the lounge will be wearing masks and social distancing protocols will be in place throughout the space. Seating capacity will be halved, as every other sofa seat is left unoccupied.

To ensure food safety, catering staff will be wearing masks, gloves and personal protective equipment (PPE). Newspaper, magazines and other reading materials will not be available to minimise the risk of infection by touch.

The Emirates lounge in concourse B in Dubai International airport is also open with a redesigned service and designated First Class area.

Emirates has introduced a host of initiatives which include the integrated biometric path at Dubai International airport, to enable customers to go from check-in to boarding via facial recognition. Onboard, the carrier has also resumed its A380 Onboard Lounge and Shower Spa services, as well as its onboard dining experience.

Read: Dubai’s Emirates relaunches A380 onboard lounge, shower spa services

Earlier this week, the airline announced a multi-risk travel insurance cover for all its passengers, at no additional charge, on all tickets purchased on or from December 1, 2020.

Read: Dubai’s Emirates to offer free multi-risk travel insurance coverage

It also re-launched its Dubai Connect initiative, offering a complimentary hotel stay in the emirate to transiting passengers with a layover time exceeding 10 hours.

Read more: Emirates to offer complimentary hotel stay in Dubai to select transiting passengers