It’s a bit of an understatement to say that COVID-19 has impacted the way we travel these days. While airlines and airports are operating flights during the pandemic, they are also taking extra precautions to keep passengers and crew as safe as possible. This means that some airport lounges are closed until further notice.
It’s important to know which lounges are open or closed in advance so that you can attempt to minimize long layovers and plan your pre-flight time at the airport properly. Here’s everything you’ll need to know about which airport lounges are open in the U.S.
Priority Pass
One of our favorite deals in travel is Priority Pass lounge access (available with certain cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve®) which gives you access to over 1,300 airport lounges around the world. Here’s a look at the U.S. Priority Pass lounges that are currently open.
The Club, an independently run group of airport lounges has 24 locations in the U.S. Most locations offer free access to those who hold Priority Pass. Here are the locations that are currently open:
- The Club ATL (Concourse F)
- The Club BWI (Concourse D, near Gate 10)
- The Club CHS (Main Terminal, on the second level toward Concourse B)
- The Club CVG (Main Terminal, Concourse A)
- The Club DFW (Terminal D near Gate 27)
- The Club JAX (Concourse A past the Food Court)
- The Club LAS (Terminal 1)
- The Club MCO (Airside 1)
- The Club MSY (3rd floor of the Main Terminal adjacent to the entrance to Concourse C)
- The Club PIT (Concourse C)
- The Club SEA (S Gates)
Other lounges that are open to Priority Pass holders include:
- The Wingtips Lounge in both STL and JFK
- Minute Suites locations
Amex Centurion lounges
If you applied and were approved for The Platinum Card® from American Express in early 2020, you were probably disappointed to learn that all of the Centurion lounges worldwide were closed in March. That said, many of the US locations have since opened with a new commitment to protecting the health of their staff and customers. That means that masks are required, socially distanced seating is set up, and some areas of the lounge might be closed, or offer pre-packaged food only.
Here are the Amex Centurion Lounges that are currently open in the U.S.:
- Charlotte (CLT)
- Dallas (DFW)
- Houston (IAH)
- Las Vegas (LAS)
- Los Angeles (LAX)
- Miami (MIA)
- New York (JFK)
- Philadelphia (PHL)
- Phoenix (PHX)
- Seattle (SEA)
- San Francisco (SFO)
American Airlines
There are three different American Airlines tiers of airport lounges:
- Flagship Lounges – Located in international airports, available for first class and elite travelers
- Flagship First dining – A smaller number of these exist in American Airlines hubs
- Admirals Club Lounges – For domestic travelers, these clubs require a membership
Currently, all of the Flagship Lounges and Flagship First dining services are closed (with the exception of the lounge at JFK in New York which has been converted into an Admirals Club Lounge). There are quite a few Admirals Lounges open in airports across the US. These include:
- Austin (AUS) – Gate 22
- Boston (BOS) – Terminal B
- Charlotte (CLT) – Concourses B and C
- Chicago O’Hare (ORD) – Concourse H/K
- Dallas / Fort Worth (DFW) – Terminals A, B, C and D
- Denver (DEN) – Concourse A
- Houston Intercontinental (IAH) – Terminal A
- Los Angeles (LAX) – Terminal 4
- Miami (MIA) – Gate D30
- Nashville (BNA) – Concourse C
- New York (JFK) – Gate 12 (Flagship Lounge with temporary Admirals Club service)
- New York LaGuardia (LGA) – Concourse D
- Orange County (SNA) – Gate 8
- Orlando (MCO) – Gate 55
- Philadelphia (PHL) – Terminals B/C
- Phoenix (PHX) – Gate A7
- Raleigh / Durham (RDU) – Terminal 2
- San Francisco (SFO) – Terminal 1
- Tampa (TPA) – Gate 85
- Washington Reagan (DCA) – Terminal C
Delta Airlines
Delta Airlines offers the SkyClub Lounge to those who have gained elite status on Delta and for those who have lounge access through a credit card rewards program. Here is the list of SkyClub lounges that are currently open in the U.S.:
- Atlanta (ATL – ACPT)
- Atlanta (ATL – A17)
- Atlanta (ATL – B18)
- Atlanta (ATL – D27)
- Atlanta (ATL – F)
- Atlanta (ATL – T)
- Boston (BOS – A7)
- Chicago (ORD-T2)
- Cincinnati (CVG – B)
- Dallas (DFW-E)
- Denver (DEN – A)
- Detroit (DTW – A38)
- LaGuardia (LGA – C)
- LaGuardia (LGA – D)
- Los Angeles (LAX – T2)
- Minneapolis – St. Paul (MSP – F/G)
- Nashville (BNA – B3)
- New York (JFK – T4)
- Orlando (MCO – 4)
- Phoenix (PHX – T3)
- Raleigh (RDU – T2)
- Seattle (SEA – A)
- San Francisco (SFO – C3)
- Salt Lake City (SLC)
- Tampa (TPA – E68)
- Washington, D.C. (DCA – B15)
Alaska Airlines
Many cardholders who use their Priority Pass to access lounges rely on Alaska Airlines’ large domestic lounge network. These lounges can often be accessed by Priority Pass holders, even if they aren’t traveling on Alaska Airlines. Here are the Alaska Airlines lounges that are open at the moment:
- Anchorage (ANC) — Concourse C, near gate C-1
- Los Angeles (LAX) — Terminal 6 near Gate 64
- Portland Airport (PDX) — Concourse C, across from Gate C5
- Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) — Concourse D, right past the security checkpoint
- Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) — North Satellite on the mezzanine level, above Gates N13 to 18
Air Canada
Air Canada was quick to react to COVID and initially closed all of its lounges worldwide. Once travel restrictions started to ease up again, they began to open up a few select lounges. These include:
- Calgary lounge (Concourse C).
- Toronto-Pearson lounge (D gates)
- Vancouver lounge (C gates)
Escape lounge
Access to the Escape lounges is free with the Business Platinum Card from Amex or the Amex Platinum Card. The Escape lounges that are open at the moment are in Phoenix and Palm Beach.
International lounges
Although almost all of the international lounges in the US have been shut down during COVID, there are a select few that are still open. These include:
- Lufthansa lounges in:
- Newark (EWR)
- Boston (BOS), Detroit (DTW)
- Washington, D.C. (IAD)
- Air France-KLM lounges in:
- New York (JFK)
- Boston (BOS)
- Chicago (ORD)
- San Francisco (SFO)
- Turkish Airlines lounge at Washington, D.C. (IAD)
- Korean Airlines’ lounge at New York (JFK)
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Check these lounges before you go because they might have limited hours and services.
Bottom line
Travel looks a little bit different at the moment. Although you probably want to minimize your time at the airport, it’s still helpful to know which lounges are open in case you have a layover. The bottom line is – plan out your time at the airport (including connections) in advance, be aware of which lounges are open, and prepare to be patient as many of these lounges have reduced their staffing and are operating within strict COVID guidelines to keep their clients and staff healthy.
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