Qantas to Close Sydney Int’l Business Lounge for Major Upgrade

Qantas will finally begin a major upgrade of its tired international Business Lounge at Sydney Airport in the second half of 2025.

Having been first announced in 2018 (yes, more than seven years ago – and originally due to be completed by the end of 2019), this lounge upgrade is long overdue.

The new lounge that will replace the current one is likely to be a big improvement. There’s just a small problem: the refurbishment will take around a year and Qantas will need to put all the displaced lounge guests somewhere in the meantime.

Qantas planning a temporary Business Lounge at Sydney Airport

Australian Frequent Flyer understands that Qantas plans to open a temporary international Business Lounge at Sydney Airport during the construction period. This will be located in a space below Gate 31 which is currently used as a sign-on and briefing room for Qantas flight crew. This was previously used as a Qantas lounge back in the 1990s.

Qantas will stop using this space as a crew room in July, in preparation for the main Business Lounge refurbishment to begin around October 2025.

This space could potentially hold around 150 people, but that’s not enough to replace the lost capacity while the regular Business Lounge is closed.

We don’t yet know exactly how Qantas will manage this, but it could potentially do one or more of the following things:

• Stop accepting Qantas Lounge Invitations during the construction period
• Stop accepting passengers flying on third-party airlines outside of Oneworld (e.g. China Eastern or LATAM)
• Use some of the space in the Qantas First Lounge entrance as an additional temporary Business Lounge
• Allow some extra people into the First Lounge (e.g. ticketed Business Class passengers); although, this risks causing crowding in Qantas’ flagship First Lounge
• Send some passengers to other airlines’ lounges, such as the Emirates Lounge which is currently closed for a large portion of the day (a bit like Qantas is currently doing in Auckland)
• Give some passengers meal vouchers in lieu of lounge access

What can we expect from the new Qantas international Business Lounge in Sydney?

Qantas has promised that its new international Business Lounge at its Sydney hub will have around 40% more capacity, with more than 600 seats. This should ease the overcrowding issues in the longer term.

The interior design will be inspired by Sydney’s “unique lifestyle and geography”. Perhaps there’ll be a Bondi beach mural?

The airline also says that this new lounge will have a refreshed “signature” food and beverage selection, dedicated family zone and luxury bathroom facilities.

The airline is yet to share further details about the new lounge’s design, but we’ll be watching with interest.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to more than 100 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.