Published: 5 October 2026
British Airways announces major Heathrow lounge transformation
British Airways has announced a major overhaul of its Heathrow lounge network, including a completely new lounge at Terminal 5C, a redesigned Arrivals lounge and a new First check-in area at Terminal 3.
And this isn’t just a handful of individual refurbishments, BA says the programme will eventually see every one of its Heathrow lounges redesigned.
Some of the improvements will arrive within months, while passengers will have to wait until the end of 2028 for the biggest project. Disappointingly however, no timeline has yet been given for the refurbishment of the existing departure lounges in the main Terminal 5A building.
The announcement comes alongside the unveiling of BA’s completely refurbished Airbus A380, featuring new cabins in First, Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller.
What improvement plans have been announced?
- Brand-new lounge at Heathrow Terminal 5C including 17-metre bar overlooking the airfield
- Dedicated Concorde lounge for First passengers at T5C
- Completely redesigned Terminal 5 Arrivals lounge including 59 shower rooms plus premium shower suites
- New Concorde Arrivals area with private cabanas
- New First Wing check-in experience at Terminal 3
- Every British Airways Heathrow lounge to be redesigned
- Further BA lounge refurbishments planned and in progress around the world
A brand-new British Airways lounge is coming to Terminal 5C
The headline announcement is a completely new lounge at the Terminal 5 C Gates.  Work has already begun, although passengers will need to be patient ad the lounge isn’t scheduled to open until the end of 2028…
Anyone who regularly flies long-haul from Terminal 5 will understand why its location matters.  Many long-haul flights depart from the satellite B and C gates. Terminal 5B has its own Galleries Club lounge, but there is currently no equivalent at T5C.
Passengers using the main lounges in T5A therefore need to allow enough time to leave the lounge and take the transit to their departure gate but the new lounge should allow eligible passengers departing from C gates to remain in a lounge much closer to their aircraft.
What will be inside the new T5C lounge?
BA says the lounge will have views across both the airfield and terminal concourse.  There will be separate areas for dining, relaxing and working, along with pre-flight shower facilities.
BA claim that British materials and craftsmanship will feature throughout, with timber, glazing, metalwork, textiles and bespoke furniture forming part of the design.
But the feature likely to attract the most attention is the bar – at 17 metres long, BA says it expects it to be among the longest airport lounge bars in the world.
First passengers get a separate Concorde lounge at T5C
There will also be a dedicated Concorde lounge within the new facility. This will offer First class passengers a private concierge service, enhanced dining and more secluded spaces.  This could be one of the most useful parts of the new lounge.
At present, a First passenger departing from the C gates has to decide when to leave the Concorde Room in the main Terminal 5 building to make the journey across to their gate.  Having a Concorde facility at T5C should allow First passengers to remain in a premium lounge until much closer to boarding.
The main lounge will be available to passengers travelling in business class and British Airways Club Silver members and above, plus their One World equivalents.
Passengers travelling in First and BA Gold Guest List status members will additionally be eligible to use the dedicated Concorde lounge.
Heathrow’s Arrivals lounge is being completely rebuilt
Passengers won’t have to wait until 2028 for all of BA’s Heathrow improvements. The airline is also completely redeveloping its Terminal 5 Arrivals lounge.
Refurbishment is due to begin in early 2027, with the new lounge scheduled to open by the end of that year.
This will be the first BA Arrivals lounge to use the airline’s new lounge design concept and the changes sound considerably more substantial than a cosmetic refurbishment.
59 showers, work booths and improved dining
The new Arrivals lounge will include a coffee bar and deli, larger dining areas, quiet relaxation spaces and dedicated work booths.Â
There will also be an impressive 59 shower rooms, together with premium shower suites and shared dressing and preparation areas. For anyone arriving at Heathrow on an overnight flight and heading straight to the office, this could actually be one of the most useful improvements BA has announced.
Club World passengers will have access to the main redeveloped Arrivals lounge.
A new Concorde Arrivals experience for First
First class passengers will have their own Concorde Arrivals experience. This will include private cabanas and dedicated dining areas, with the design putting greater emphasis on privacy.
It is interesting to see BA extending the Concorde concept beyond the traditional departure-lounge experience.
For passengers arriving after a long overnight flight, a private space to shower, change, eat and prepare for the day could arguably be more valuable than some of the extras offered before departure.
Terminal 3 gets a new First check-in area
British Airways and American Airlines are also creating a new First wing check-in experience at Heathrow Terminal 3. Unlike the T5C lounge, passengers won’t have long to wait for this one. It is scheduled to open this winter.
The facility will use a dark-red colour palette inspired by BA’s First Wing at Terminal 5.
Access will be available to passengers travelling in First, British Airways Club Gold members and above and equivalent eligible American Airlines members
This should give BA’s premium passengers using Terminal 3 a more consistent experience with those departing from Terminal 5.
Every British Airways Heathrow lounge will eventually be redesigned
Perhaps the most important detail in BA’s announcement is that these aren’t isolated projects.
The airline says this is the first phase of a programme that will see every BA lounge at Heathrow redesigned over the coming years although we would have welcomed a little more detail on the wider Heathrow Terminal 5A lounge redevelopment plan.
BA has also been investing in its lounges elsewhere.
Recent projects include Miami, Glasgow, Seattle and Washington, while work is underway in Boston and Newark. Geneva and San Francisco are due to follow in 2027.
Our Take
The new T5C lounge is the obvious headline, but we’re actually more interested in the practical problems these projects solve.
A lounge at the C gates makes total sense. The current setup means passengers departing from T5C need to factor the journey from the main terminal into their lounge visit. That’s inconvenient for Club World passengers and particularly frustrating for First passengers who have access to the Concorde Room.
Putting both a business-class lounge and a dedicated Concorde facility at T5C should make that experience considerably more seamless.
There is, however, a fairly substantial catch: it isn’t opening until the end of 2028.
The Arrivals lounge could therefore be the more interesting development in the short term. Its planned 59 showers, work booths and improved dining facilities should be genuinely useful for passengers arriving on overnight flights – particularly business travellers heading directly into London or to the office.
We’re also pleased that BA is treating Heathrow as a complete passenger journey rather than simply refurbishing individual lounges. A new T3 First check-in area, a completely redesigned Arrivals lounge and eventually a proper T5C lounge address three quite different weaknesses.
But the really interesting part is what comes next. BA has committed to redesigning every Heathrow lounge, so the existing T5A and T5B facilities will eventually get their turn. Unfortunately no refurbishment timeline has been disclosed for these lounges, which suffer badly from overcrowding at peak times with the Galleries Club lounges especially looking pretty tired these days.
We will be watching with interest.
