Emirates is to reopen its lounges with a new offering to take into account the ongoing Covid pandemic. The airline says the first lounge to open again will be in Cairo International, with those in New York JFK and Manchester to follow in the coming weeks.
The airline said that it was replacing buffets with an a la carte service with contactless menus activated by QR code.
Throughout the day, lounge staff will sanitise each seat and table after customers leave. In addition, the lounge will be sanitised and fumigated regularly.
All employees working in the lounge will be wearing masks and the airline will be putting social distancing protocols in place throughout the lounge, including halving seating capacity.
Newspapers, magazines and other reading materials will not be available to minimise the risk of infection by touch.
The Emirates lounge in concourse B of Dubai International airport is also open again with a redesigned service and a designated first class area.
In october, the airline restarted onboard services and began to offer passengers Covid insurance.