February 2025


Lufthansa Introduces Sleek New Lounge at London Heathrow


LUFTHANSA has unveiled its newly renovated passenger lounge at London Heathrow Airport. The Senator and Business Lounge, located in Terminal 2, South Level, Level 5, has been closed for renovations since October 2024 and aims to provide travellers with a refreshed and enhanced experience. The lounge boasts an elegant contemporary design,


featuring


significant upgrades to flooring, lighting, and furnishings. Workspaces have been meticulously redesigned to incorporate chain curtains, which provide improved zoning and privacy for guests. The Business area includes two private phone booths equipped with upgraded wall panels to enhance sound quality, ensuring a more discreet environment for travellers. Meanwhile,


the Senator section


has been significantly enhanced, showcasing reimagined workspaces, improved seating, and a design inspired by local elements.


www.nitravelnews.com Dublin Airport Calls on Local


Council To Resolve Passenger Cap DUBLIN Airport is calling on Fingal


County Council


planners to take a “pragmatic and proactive approach so that Ireland doesn’t lose vital connectivity, jobs, tourism, and economic growth opportunities”. DAA CEO Kenny Jacobs said: “Everyone recognises the need to urgently resolve the Dublin Airport planning cap issue. We respect that FCC has a job to do but declaring daa’s application to increase the cap to 36 million a year as invalid after twice confirming it was valid shows the inconsistent approach of FCC’s planners. We also refute the reasons given for declaring a 1,000-plus page application as misleading.


“The suggestion that daa had not discussed the application with FCC is wrong. daa engages extensively with FCC on all planning matters and had more than 30 meetings with them last year. daa’s leadership and planning team dedicate immense time, effort,


expertise


and resources to our planning applications and have a track record of successful applications like Terminal 2, the North Runway and the airport underpass. We also partner with highly experienced planning,


environmental and


legal consultants to ensure our applications robustly meet the requirements of the planning system.


“These are not simple matters: many of daa’s planning


applications are large and complex, both from a technical and planning perspective, and from a regulatory and environmental assessment perspective at both national and EU level. While the ‘no build’ application to increase to 36 million had some complexity, the purpose was simple; to find a short- term solution to the planning cap impasse while FCC gets on with evaluating the bigger 40-million application lodged in 2023. The original idea to apply for 36 million rather than 40 million came from FCC, and government and other stakeholders have consistently supported the idea to lodge a ‘no build’ application.


“daa does not think it’s bigger


than planning but we do want the planning regime to be big enough and agile enough to


deal with


planning applications that are critical to national infrastructure and the economy as Dublin Airport is. This is why we believe evaluating complex aviation matters should be decided at a national level and are calling on the new government to urgently reclassify Dublin Airport as strategic national infrastructure in the national interest. Planning for the most important transportation assets is too important to become a game of ‘Snakes & Ladders’ where planners keep moving the goalposts. In the meantime, we will continue to engage with FCC to try to find a solution to this impasse.”


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