Virgin Australia: Adelaide pop-up lounge

Introduction

Just so we are clear, this is not a review, merely a note about the location of the Pop-up lounge scheduled to be replaced by a new permanent lounge – mind you in these times of COVID-19, all bets are off on the delivery of new services whether airport lounges or new routes.

One lounge closes, and pop-up opens

Previously, I have reported on the closure of the Virgin Australia Adelaide lounge and gave it an almost posthumous review. Well, the new lounge was scheduled to open in April. In some ways, Virgin Australia couldn’t have timed the lounge closure better, with Adelaide Airport close to empty during this COVID-19 crisis.

The old lounge needed to close because they are effectively demolishing that part of the airport building. You can see where the old lounge was from this external shot:

To the left of the image is the Atura Hotel, and next to that is a new section of the terminal, which has now open with a bunch of new food and beverage outlets.

I ended up taking a bit of a tour of this before I could locate the Pop-up Virgin Australia lounge.

This development is at the Virgin end of the airport.

Essentially, Qantas and Virgin Australia occupy opposite ends of the long thin rectangular airport, with the middle section being reserved for Border Force immigration and customs checks adjacent to what can be closed off as international gates in the centre (Gates 18 and 19).

The Virgin Australia end of the airport, bar the new lounge, and probably a few other things, seems largely complete, while the middle and ‘Qantas’ end is now shrouded in hoardings while they are extended and refurbished.

Pop-up Lounge

In the interim, they have opened a ‘Pop Up’ lounge.

The sign says opposite Gate 15, but its kind of opposite and around the back, and without the signage, I wouldn’t have found it.

It’s not much to look at – just a closed-off section of what I think will be part of the main concourse, with Virgin branded umbrellas, chairs and tables and some token plants, string lights and other decoration. Mind you, the space is probably larger than the old lounge. Here is a shot of it, with an attractive capped resident.

That’s about all there is to it. The entrance is a staffed break in the hoarding, and it appeared to have a bar and barista station. I wasn’t travelling on Virgin Australia, so I could not enter and explore.

While I abhor the ‘shopping-centre-isation’ of Airports, the transformation of Adelaide’s, looks quite good – at this stage.

2PAXfly Takeout

I look forward to experiencing the new Adelaide Virgin Australia lounge once it opens, if it opens, if Virgin Australia survives the current COVID-19 crisis.

At the moment, both Qantas and Virgin Australia are talking about closing their international, and possibly domestic lounges for the duration.