Why Can’t I Get Into Airport Lounges With My Priority Pass?

With Airports full to the brim with passengers Airport Lounges can provide a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of the terminal. But if you have a Priority Pass membership (whether from Priority Pass themselves or through your Platinum Card) you may have discovered that it’s a lot more difficult to use your Priority Pass to gain access to lounges recently…

Where is affected?

In our experience (and that what we can see online) it appears this is predominately happening in UK lounges. No 1 Lounges, Aspire Lounges & Escape lounges across Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted, Birmingham & Manchester are all affected. You may see signs up letting you know that the lounge isn’t accepting Priority Pass currently or be told that the lounge is currently ‘full.’

Why are other people getting into Airport Lounges when my Priority Pass is being refused?

Unfortunately Priority Pass members seem to be the lowest on the ‘pecking’ order for access to lounges. Whilst there isn’t an official order it’s likely that lounges prioritise guests in this order…

1. Passengers that are guarenteed access through either their Airline status or their ticket class. This is normally where the Airline doesn’t have their own facilities and they will then block book space in lounges for their passengers. As this is ‘guarenteed’ income it is a sensible option for a lot of lounges, particularly larger ones.
   
2. Passengers that have either pre-booked directly with the lounge or reserved a time slot with their Priority Pass for a small fee. For example, No1 Lounges offers Priority Pass members the chance to reserve a time slot from £6 at their Heathrow, Gatwick & Birmingham Lounges. With booking directly costing up to £40 at most lounges and this money going directly to the operator it’s easy to see why lounges preference these over Priority Pass members.
   
3. Then lastly Priority Pass members! Why? Priority Pass pays the lounge operator a fee per each entry. Whilst the amount is confendtinal we can hazard a guess that the amount is under £20. This is because the cost of a admitting a guest outside your membership plan costs £20…and the lounge is unlikely to see all of that!

What can I do about it if I want to make sure I get in?

If you want to make sure you get access you either need to reserve a time slot with an operator (for example No1 Lounges) and pay the relevant fee OR pay for an ordinary slot. Whilst far from ideal until the situation improves these are unfortunately your only options!

Conclusion

If you are having difficulties accessing lounges make sure you complain to Priority Pass/American Express (depending on who your membership is through.) If they see the volume of unhappy customers they may be more inclined to do something it. Have you struggled to get into an Airport Lounge with your Priority Pass recently? Let us know where and when in the comments!