Emirates to reopen lounge and reintroduce chauffeur services on July 1

The airline will operate one lounge at Dubai International Airport, with new health and safety measures in place

Emirates is resuming its complimentary chauffeur service for first and business class customers in Dubai and other cities. Courtesy Emirates

Emirates is reintroducing on-ground services for premium customers from Wednesday.

The airline’s chauffeur and airport lounge services will be available once again from July 1, following a full health and safety review.

Initially, Emirates will operate one lounge at Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3 Concourse B, to serve first and business class passengers, as well as eligible Emirates Skywards members. This will open at 10am on Wednesday. More Emirates lounges in Dubai and around the world are expected to open in the coming months.

The 9,209-square-metre lounge at DXB will operate with reduced seating capacity and increased space between each occupied seat, to aid social distancing. Masks are mandatory in the lounge, and elsewhere in the airport.

Food in the lounge, including vegetarian options, will be offered in hygienically sealed meal boxes instead of the standard buffet format. Complimentary beverages will be available in single-serve bottles, while wine and champagne, served from shared bottles, will be temporarily unavailable.

The lounge will be sanitised and fumigated at the end of each day while, throughout the day, seats and tables will be sanitised after each customer leaves. Lounge employees will wear personal protective equipment (PPE) at all times.

Onboard, social areas such as the A380 lounge remain closed.

Emirates is also resuming its complimentary chauffeur service for first and business class customers in Dubai and other cities. The cars in Dubai are cleaned and disinfected inside and out at the end of each shift. The drivers will wear masks and gloves, and stringent checks are in place to ensure they are fit for work.

The vehicle’s high-touch points, including door handles, as well as the handles of customers’ luggage, will be sanitised at the end of the trip. Child car seats are available on request and are disinfected and then shrink wrapped after each use. Each car will be limited to three customers and masks are mandatory for passengers in Dubai. Larger vehicles, which can accommodate four passengers, are available on request.

At the airport, complimentary hygiene kits containing masks, gloves, hand sanitiser and antibacterial wipes are available for all customers. Onboard, cabin crew are dressed in PPE and Emirates has also added a cabin service assistant to the crew on flights over 1.5 hours, to ensure lavatories are cleaned at frequent intervals.

Aircraft cabins have been fitted with advanced Hepa air filters which remove 99.97 per cent of viruses and eliminate dust, allergens and germs from cabin air. After its journey and on landing in Dubai, each aircraft will go through enhanced cleaning and disinfection processes to ensure safety and proper sanitation.

Emirates is currently serving more than 50 destinations in its network.