Air Canada's Maple Leaf Lounges are gradually reopening with new biosafety protocols aimed at safeguarding the well-being of customers and employees.
The Maple Leaf Lounge at YYZ's D gates re-opens on 24JUL to eligible customers travelling on a domestic or international flight.
Maple Leaf Lounges at YUL and YVR are set to re-open by Labour Day, according to Mats Winter, Director, Product Design at Air Canada.
“We are also actively looking at places like Ottawa and Calgary going forward, and potentially some of our overseas locations,” Winter added. “However, this is going to be dependent on traffic, on the booking situations and the overall COVID-19 pandemic and how this all unfolds.”
Face coverings are mandatory for both customers and employees using Air Canada's Maple Leaf Lounges. Plexiglass partitions have been installed at welcome desks, food and refreshments are pre-packaged to-go, and a modified assisted beverage service has been implemented. Attendants will "continuously" clean lounge seating and restrooms, and enhanced cleaning measures like electrostatic units and medical grade disinfectants will be used.
“The Maple Leaf Lounge experience has been completely re-thought with a range of industry-leading biosafety measures in place for the safety of customers and employees alike," said Andrew Yiu, Vice President, Product, at Air Canada.
"We are introducing electrostatic spraying in our Lounges as part of our significantly enhanced cleaning procedures for additional peace of mind, and launching new touchless processes, such as the ability to order pre-packaged food directly to your seat from your smartphone."
The new lounge services will also offer several touchless features, including presentation of all reading materials in digital format through PressReader.
The Air Canada Café will reopen later this year with touchless self-entry, a process AC is looking to implement at other lounges as well, Yiu added.
Click here to learn more about Air Canada’s updated Maple Leaf Lounge services.
Anna Kroupina Journalist
Anna is OJ's newest member and she joins the team as a writer/reporter. She co-writes the daily news and covers events. Although she's new to the industry, pursuing a career path in travel/tourism has been a goal since her first family road trip to the Florida Keys sparked a desire to discover the world and this exhilarating, fast-paced industry.