London Airport Lounges: The Comprehensive Guide

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London area has 7 airports and multiple terminals. In addition to many airline lounges there are publicly available lounges to anyone. On this single page, we collected information about these lounges for a quick reference to our readers.

The lounges are open for people taking part in lounge membership programs: Priority Pass, DragonPass, Diners Club, Lounge Key or Lounge Club. Some of the lounges can also be accessed just by walking in and paying at the counter or a lounge pass can be bought beforehand. Buying a pass beforehand is recommended because the price is usually cheaper and the entry time can be secured.

In this guide, you will find all publicly available Heathrow Lounges and we also have listed VIP lounges in other London airports. It is possible to make pre-bookings to some of these lounges.

In addition to the public lounges, there are many airlines' lounges. Airline lounges are usually meant only for airline's status cardholders or for business and first-class travellers. If you do not belong to these groups, you will find that entering airlines' lounges may be challenging or even impossible. However, there are exceptions: Some airline lounges allow cash payments and airlines have often promotional offers for their economy passengers.

Other lounges are usually open to everyone. The most common ways to enter these lounges is to have Priority Pass or DragonPass memberships. Diners Club credit card is also accepted in many lounges. Infrequent travellers and other people may pay themselves in at the door but we recommend booking a lounge pass beforehand. Usually it becomes cheaper this way, and in busy airports, booking a lounge pass in advance will secure your entry time during busy hours.

In the following section, we list all publicly available lounges in London airports. We identified which membership cards are accepted and for non-cardholders of these cards, we also have listed an estimated entry price.

Heathrow Airport Lounges

Terminal 2

In addition to these publicly available business lounges, there are multiple airline lounges in Terminal 2 of Heathrow Airport: Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and United lounges. To access these lounges, you must possess an airline ticket booked with these airlines or with their partners in high enough class to receive a lounge invitation.

Arrival lounges are on the landside of the airport. You can access them without going through the security.

Terminal 3

terminal 3 of Heathrow Airport has also many airline lounges: American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Virgin Atlantic and Qantas Lounges. An invitation is needed for admission to these lounges.

Terminal 4

In Terminal 4 of Heathrow Airport, these are the airline lounges you will find: El Al, Etihad, Gulf Air, Malaysian Airlines and Qatar Airways. There is also the Skyteam lounge that is publicly available. To access the above-mentioned airline lounges (expect Skyteam Lounge), you will need an invitation from the airline.

Terminal 5

terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport has also British Airways Lounge that is for their own and oneworld customers.

Gatwick Airport Lounges

South Terminal

In the South terminal, you will find also the British Airways Club lounge offering services separately for business and first-class passengers.

North Terminal

In the North terminal, there are the airline lounges of Emirates and Virgin Atlantic.

Stanstedt Airport Lounges

Regus Express Lounges are on the landside of the terminals. They can be accessed before or after the flights. For example, they are good places to hold a meeting after flights.

Luton Airport Lounges

London City Airport Lounges

Aerospa isn't a traditional lounge. As the name suggests, it is a spa where you can book separately priced treatments. Pretty sure, having a massage will be relaxing before a long flight.

London Southend Airport

With the above enumerations, you can see that there are multiple lounges in the London area. Most of them can be paid separately without any membership. It is important to book the entry beforehand because the lounges may be crowded thus, securing your spot.

For frequent travellers, we recommend Priority Pass. It is the most widely accepted lounge membership and having it become cheaper in the long term as you travel often. Priority Pass is a product from the UK so it is widely accepted in many UK airports but also globally.

Tags: London, lounge, airport
Destination: United Kingdom

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