British Airways to close Gatwick lounge in January

British Airways will close its lounge in London Gatwick's North Terminal in January next year. The carrier is scheduled to move across to the South Terminal in November 2016 (see news, January 19), leaving ten months during which there will be no BA lounge in the North Terminal. During that time, passengers will have access to the No.1 Traveller lounge. The BA facility is being closed so that construction work can take place, presumably to make way for either Easyjet and Virgin Atlantic, both of whom are moving their entire operations from the South Terminal to the North Terminal (see news, January 23). A BA spokesperson said: "Our customers are invited to use Gatwick's No.1 lounge from January 2016 when the current British Airways lounge will be closed for building work." The move will include the construction of a new BA check-in area and Executive Club lounge in the South Terminal. Earlier this month, it emerged that No.1 Traveller will double its capacity in both Gatwick terminals over the next year (see news, September 3). ba.com Graham Smith