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British Airways lounge at Edinburgh Airport to close on Sunday for refurbishment

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The British Airways lounge upgrade programme, which has recently seen the Heathrow Terminal 5B lounge get an overhaul and new furniture added to Galleries First, is heading north.

The (surprisingly large) BA lounge at Edinburgh Airport will close on Sunday for three weeks for refurbishment.

This isn’t a bad lounge – the sheer size of it means that you can usually find somewhere quiet to sit and there is enough variety of furnishings to keep both business and leisure passengers happy.

Our 2022 review of the British Airways Edinburgh lounge is here – we might pop back after Christmas to see what is new.

British Airways could not confirm which lounge would be used as the alternative, although it appears to be the Aspire lounge by Gate 4, as this is currently unavailable for cash bookings. Our recent 2023 review of the Aspire lounge by Gate 4 (there are two Aspire lounges so make sure you head to the right one) is here.

If you have a Priority Pass airport lounge club card, I would recommend the Plaza Premium lounge (review here) instead which is a far more pleasant space.


Getting airport lounge access for free from a credit card

How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (April 2025)

Here are the five options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK credit card.

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,500 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.

You also get access to Eurostar, Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here.

You can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with four free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.

Additional lounge visits are charged at £24.  You get four more free visits for every year you keep the card.  

There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus.  Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold review here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free Priority Pass card, allowing you access to the Priority Pass network.  Guests are charged at £24 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.

The card has a fee of £290 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer.  Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard

A good package, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review

Got a small business?

If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum which has the same lounge benefits as the personal Platinum card:

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

You should also consider the Capital on Tap Pro Visa credit card which has a lower fee and, as well as a Priority Pass for airport lounge access, also comes with Radison Rewards VIP hotel status:

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.

Comments (107)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Duncan says:

    Edinburgh Lounge: The mini-steak and gravy pies are marvellous!

  • Harry says:

    There are statutory time limits for compensation payments. BA should abode by these times or a complaint should be made to the CAA with a request that the companies licence to fly be suspended. If enough complaints are made, things should improve.

    • Jack says:

      It is easier said then done there is a big backlog of complaints these cannot be dealt with in that time frame . There is not a law dictating the reply time for most complaints. The CAA will not intervene or suspend BAs licence as there is no cause to when you log a compliant you are also told there is a long wait currently but they will get back to you

    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

      Laughable

      The CAA won’t suspend any airlines licence for customer service delays.

      They’d be laughing every time they read the letters demanding this.

  • Jim says:

    Good old British Delayways

  • Peter says:

    Having huge issues with BA all the time, I was so presently surprised when I had a LH flight cancelled. It let me book new flights online, and the claim was paid out less than 24 hours after I submitted it! They even paid more than I was entitled to!

  • Paul says:

    Edinburgh – on Friday evening one of the staff told me that the lounge would be closing for 3 weeks from Monday – that we should use the Aspire lounge next door, “just show your boarding pass”. Actually I think the food is better in there, but there’s no toilets.

  • Nicola Sheppard says:

    I had a flight to Paris cancelled an hour before departure in March (thanks, French ATC)- BA couldn’t book me on the same day and paid compensation 7 weeks later. A flight to Nice was cancelled 12 hours before but we were put on the next flight (6 hour delay) and our compensation took a staggering 16 weeks. Thankfully all other flights this year have been on time!

  • DTR says:

    I was one of the recent grumblers in the forum (also a cancelled Geneva flight, back in June). In the end, clocking in at around 160 calendar days with nothing but a holding email, I got an email saying my EU261 was approved just over a weeks ago, and the cash has now landed. My downgrade from CE however (part of the same complaint) it said was ‘passed on to the refunds team’ – I have heard nothing on that….

  • NorthernLass says:

    Maybe the instant coffee is intentional, to go with the custard creams and bourbons?

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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