Emirates opens its £10 million Manchester lounge, with boarding straight from the lounge to the plane
Emirates' new lounge design arrives in the UK for the first time at Manchester Terminal 2. It has live cooking, local dishes, upgraded showers, and the only lounge-to-aircraft boarding at the airport.
Emirates' new lounge at Manchester Airport is open in Terminal 2. It's the first UK location for the airline's new lounge design, which Emirates says includes more than 50 design changes, according to its Sept. 24 announcement. The airline puts the cost at £10 million.
Mohammad Mattar, Emirates' divisional senior vice president for airport services, said the scale of the investment "reflects our long-term commitment to the region."
What's inside#
The lounge is divided into areas for resting, working, socializing and eating. Emirates highlights:
- Seating: Italian eco-leather seats with wireless charging, and universal power at every seat
- Finishes: herringbone floors, a display of artifacts honoring international artists and Emirati culture, and the Rolex clocks showing world time zones that Emirates uses in its lounges
- A signature scent: bergamot, citrus, jasmine and soft wood
- Showers: upgraded shower suites with VOYA toiletries
- Quiet spaces: a Quiet Zone with soft lighting and sleep amenities, plus private rooms and prayer rooms
- Food and drink: an open show kitchen cooking dishes to order, a barista bar and a mixologist
- Champagne: Moët & Chandon, alongside wines, beers and spirits
Emirates says it's the only airline at Manchester with direct boarding from the lounge to the aircraft. Our directory places the lounge airside in the Terminal 2 extension, with direct boarding to Emirates aircraft at the C4/C6 and C8/C10 gates.
The Manchester menu#
The local angle is the part Emirates leans on hardest. A "Made in Manchester" menu runs alongside an international one, and everything is included with lounge access. Dishes named in the release include Fleetwood marinated king prawns, oven-baked Fleetwood sea bream and Wigan meat and potato pie, with Shetland kippers with crumpets and poached egg, Lancashire smoked trout and Cheshire cheeses among the other regional items.
The barista finishes coffees with cocoa-dusted designs, including the Manchester bee. The mixologist's signature drink is also called Made in Manchester: Vimto Summer, grenadine, lemonade and fresh strawberry.
Who gets in#
Emirates First and Business passengers get in free. So do Skywards Platinum and Gold members, even when flying Premium Economy or Economy. Other Emirates passengers can pay for entry on arrival. The lounge opens up to four hours before departure.
That is the standard Emirates Lounge rule, and our directory records the same for the Manchester lounge, with paid access subject to availability. Emirates doesn't give a price in the release. Skywards has four tiers in our listing, Member, Silver, Gold and Platinum, so Silver members in Economy are on the paying side of the door.
Timing matters more here than at most lounges because of the direct boarding. The lounge opens four hours before departure. By comparison, our listing for The Executive by Escape Lounges admits guests two and a half hours before departure, or three with an airline invitation.
Emirates flies three times a day between Manchester and Dubai. In Dubai, the same passengers use the airline's Business Class lounges in Terminal 3, which are far larger; the Concourse B lounge alone has 30 showers in our listing.
What the airport adds#
Stephen Turner, chief commercial officer at Manchester Airport, used the opening to note that the airport's £1.5 billion transformation of Terminal 2 is "now all but complete." That matters for Emirates passengers because the lounge sits in the extended part of the terminal, and the walk from security has changed as the rebuild progressed. Our Manchester Terminal 2 page scores the terminal 3.4 overall.
For Emirates passengers who don't qualify, the alternative in Terminal 2 is The Executive by Escape Lounges, which opened in July 2026 and sells entry from about £57 pre-booked, per our listing. It does not take Priority Pass. The ordinary Escape Lounge in Terminal 2 does, along with LoungeKey and DragonPass, and has two showers and a 4.1 rating in our listing, the same score as the Emirates lounge for now.
How I see the comparison#
Our listing for the Emirates Lounge at MAN has been updated with the new lounge's details: capacity for about 162 people, a cocktail bar and the direct-boarding gates. Emirates has not published the number of shower suites, and our listing shows one until that is confirmed. The 4.1 rating reflects check-ins to date, and the new space will need fresh visits before the score means much.
For comparison, Emirates' other UK lounges in our directory rate 4.9 at Heathrow, 4.1 at Stansted, 3.9 at Gatwick, 3.7 at Glasgow and 3.6 at Birmingham. Manchester is the first of them to get the new design; Emirates hasn't said which comes next.
If you're flying Business or First from Manchester, the practical change is the boarding. Arrive within the four-hour window, eat in the lounge, and walk to the aircraft from the lounge door. See all Emirates lounges.
Related reading#
Cite this article
Patrick Karsh. “Emirates opens its £10 million Manchester lounge, with boarding straight from the lounge to the plane.” Lounge Frog. Published 2026-10-06. Updated 2026-10-14. https://www.loungefrog.com/news/emirates-manchester-lounge-signature-concept
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