Teesside International Airport in County Durham has partnered with KLM to offer premium passengers direct lounge to aircraft boarding.
KLM SkyPriority customers flying from the airport can now be escorted by a lounge host directly from the Rockliffe Lounge onto their aircraft.
According to this page on KLM’s website SkyPriority is available to customers flying in business or Premium Comfort Class, those travelling on an economy Flex ticket within Europe, Flying Blue Gold, Platinum or Ultimate members, and Skyteam Elite Plus members.
Teesside said it was also in talks with other carriers to roll out the lounge boarding service this summer. Aside from KLM’s flights to Amsterdam a number of other airlines operate year-round or seasonal flights from the airport including BH Air, Eastern Airways, Ryanair and TUI.
The airport has also launched new virtual tours of its terminal, covering landside and airside departures, and airside arrivals facilities.
Teesside was also the first airport in the UK to relax the 100ml rules on liquids in hand luggage, following the introduction of new generation scanning equipment.
Commenting on the news Chloe Hanlon, head of operations at Teesside, said:
“Be it through new scanners or lounge boarding, it’s great to see Teesside leading the charge and clocking yet another UK first.
“KLM and the airport have a close bond and we’re very pleased to offer Amsterdam passengers another way to enjoy their experience.
“I’d like to thank our airport team for all their efforts in getting the new boarding gate ready and we can’t wait to welcome our eligible KLM SkyPriority passengers to experience this new service.”
Note Hanlon’s claim of a UK first – Business Traveller has asked the airport for clarification on this – as this news piece from 2021 attests Emirates also offers direct lounge to aircraft boarding at Heathrow Terminal 3.
