After an amazing two week honeymoon, it was finally time to start our journey home. We had flown in from Santorini the day before and spent the night at the Moxy Athens before our final ATH-CDG-DFW flights with Air France. Since we were flying business class on Air France, we had access to the Goldair Handling Lounge in Athens.
Location
The Goldair Handling CIP Lounge in Athens is located near gate B13 on Level 1 of the departures hall. It is worth noting that there are 2 Goldair lounges at the Athens airport. This one is only accessible to passengers departing from the B gates. The other lounge is located in Hall A, for passengers departing from the A gates.
After clearing security, follow the signs for gates B1-31 and Business Lounges. From there, near gate B13, you will see the entrance to the lounge on your left.
Hours of Operation
Currently the lounge is open from 3:30a to 9:30p daily.
Entry Requirements
Since the Goldair Handling CIP Lounge is the main contract lounge for Schengen flights, a variety of airline elite passengers can access the lounge. This includes passengers on Air France, KLM, ITA Airways, SAS, LOT Polish, and Air Baltic. In addition, the lounge is part of the Priority Pass network which allows eligible cardholders access as well. Our invitation was provided to us at the Air France check-in counter and we were promptly admitted upon presenting this to the lounge attendant.
Layout
The Goldair Handling CIP Lounge had a similar layout to the Schengen Aegean Lounge that we had visited a few days prior. The lounge was set up as a long rectangle with the reception desk at the front, seating in the middle, and the buffet set up towards the rear. There were also some large windows overlooking the ramp, though it was still dark outside during our visit.
The seating consisted of individual chairs that were arranged in either pairs or as single seats. There was also additional seating in the form of a long, communal table in the buffet area of the lounge.
Finally, in the very back of the lounge were the restrooms. This was a nice feature as some smaller lounges require you to use the ones in the concourse.
Food and Beverage
The food and beverage selection was pretty substantial, especially considering the fact that it was 4:45a. There was a selection of pre-packaged pastries as well as hot dishes consisting of pumpkin soup, vegetable omelet, and Greek and spinach pies.
There was also a large selection of juices and yogurts available along with some cereals.
The drink selection was extensive and multiple areas were set up. First was the coffee and tea area which had regular, brewed coffee as well as an espresso machine.
There were also bottles of red and white wine along with some Greek spirits setup for self service.
A full, self service spirits bar was also set up and had pre-packaged nuts available.
Finally, along the bottom of the counters were coolers that had a selection of sodas, juices and waters.
Since we had a long day of flying ahead of us and I knew we would have a meal onboard, I just had a bowl of corn flakes, which I accompanied with a cup of coffee and a bottle of water.
Summary
The Goldair Handling CIP Lounge in Athens is a pleasant enough space with a great selection of food and drinks. The only downside here was the fact that seating space was at a premium. Having the restrooms in the lounge is an added bonus given the lounge’s small space. Though it isn’t worth getting to the airport early for, it’s worth a visit if you have the time, especially considering most of the food and beverage outlets in the terminal weren’t yet open during our visit.
