Inside the strange world of VIP (and VVIP) airport terminals

The UK’s only private airport terminal, aether, opened last week in Manchester - Toby Mitchell

Between the crowds, the mile-long security queues and the flight delays, going anywhere by plane these days can be a right pain. Unless, of course, you’re flying business or first class and can enjoy the benefits of a dedicated luxury lounge to ease you through the experience or, better still, you’re travelling via one of a growing number of “VVIP” airport terminals popping up around the world.

It’s been more than 60 years since Heathrow launched the world’s first VIP terminal for royals and dignitaries – a notable departure from the concept of a business lounge (of which there are around 12 at Heathrow alone) which, though often lovely, can still involve traipsing through people-packed terminals. VIP terminals, on the other hand, let you side-step all that and do check-in, security and passport control in complete comfort, often from an armchair.

The Windsor suite at Heathrow offers a private art gallery and a personal shopping service - The Windsor

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the United Arab Emirates is leading the charge here, with each emirate vying to outdo the others on size and level of luxury. Dubai’s more laid-back (some say more sophisticated) near neighbour, the beautiful, mountain-and-dune-filled little emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, has just announced that it will launch a VVIP terminal for private flights at its International Airport in 2027, with a vast royal suite, four VIP suites, a helipad and a highly personalised service. The opening will coincide with the arrival of new five-star hotels by Wynn, Nobu, Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons, all a 15-minute drive from the airport.

It will join the likes of the Jetex VIP terminal at Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport, for example, which offers Rolls-Royce transfers from terminal to tarmac, futuristic Metronap relaxation pods for power naps, a lavish cigar lounge and, in a bid to be a bit more down-to-earth, a resident golden retriever, Jetty, a sort of emotional-support-animal-in-residence, which greets guests with a wag.

What is a VIP terminal?

There are three main types: those for business people using private aviation who just want to get from A to B as quickly as possible; those built primarily to welcome visiting heads of state, which are often palatial in style and all about status and national showmanship; and those for people who are travelling by commercial airline but willing to pay extra for a highly luxurious airport experience.

Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal in Frankfurt offers valet parking service, a cigar lounge, and a bar that offers over 130 different kinds of whisky - Walter Pietsch / Alamy Stock Photo

“In my experience, the most popular VIP terminals among business travellers using private aviation are ones like Gstaad Saanen Airport in the Swiss Alps, where you can bypass the terminal and drive directly to the plane,” says Eric Weisskopf, managing director at leading European private aviation firm HansJet, which specialises in the little but luxurious Pilatus PC-12s that can land in tight, awkward spaces like Gstaad’s short mountain runway.

“Luxury private terminals are becoming an increasingly standard request among my UHNW [ultra-high-net-worth] clients, especially those for whom privacy, efficiency and security are far more valuable than spectacle,” adds Ike Ordor, founder and chief executive of Starr Luxury Cars. “The Jeff Bezos types aren’t looking for marble fountains or gold-leaf ceilings, they want a five-minute transition from car door to aircraft steps, with as little friction as possible.”

Of course, many of these terminals do manage to straddle efficiency and decadence, like Cape Town’s Execujet terminal, which has a wine concierge, private shopping experiences and the option of sundowners on a private yacht. Then there’s the modestly named Million Air White Plains at Westchester County Airport in New York. Just 35 miles from Wall Street, it feels like a rustic chic mountain ski lodge and has reclining armchairs in front of a roaring fire.

Pay-to-play options

There is, however, a growing subset of commercial travellers who enjoy the theatre and social ranking of VIP terminals and will happily pay extra for it. Which is where, among others, PS (Private Suite) comes in. Launched in 2017, PS is a very glamorous private luxury terminal concept that specifically serves commercial flights.

Launched in 2017, the luxurious PS terminal at LAX Airport has 12 residential-feeling private suites

Its first terminal, at LAX, has 12 residential-feeling private suites ($3,650/£2,740 for up to four travellers for members – annual fee $4,850/£3,645 – or $4,950/£3,720 for up to four non-members), with day beds and sofas, hi-tech entertainment systems, bathrooms and access to spa showers; a fully stocked snack and beverage bar; back massages, manicures and barber services on tap, and complimentary beauty products by the likes of Beautycounter, R+Co, Eminence Organic and Mara.

PS has also launched in Atlanta and, next year, will add Dallas-Fort Worth and excitingly, Miami, which will be housed in an old brutalist, mid-century Pan Am Flight Academy, and redesigned to resemble a gorgeous Palm Beach-style apartment building arranged around an al fresco courtyard. The following year it will launch in Paris.

Lufthansa at Frankfurt airport offers an entire terminal dedicated to first-class passengers - Alamy Stock Photo

“A client favourite is Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal in Frankfurt,” says Jules Maury, head of Scott Dunn Private. “It’s an entire terminal dedicated to first-class passengers. Calm, private check-in, beautiful nap rooms, proper showers with tubs and genuinely good food. And then you get driven to your plane in a sleek little car. Not forgetting the famous rubber duck, a free souvenir you can ask your lounge attendant for, that has reached cult status, differently themed for different times of year, like Christmas, Oktoberfest and the Fifa World Cup.”

The British contingent

Closer to home, while Farnborough is the UK’s leading business aviation airport, has welcomed everyone from Tom Cruise to Bill Gates over the years and is unveiling global provider of private jet travel Flexjet’s first European private terminal next year, what’s causing a stir in the meantime is aether, a new private terminal at Manchester Airport, available to anyone flying any class with any airline, for a starting price of £99pp when not checking in luggage and from £199pp when you are.

This peaceful little terminal lets you do check-in, security and passport control from the comfort of your runway-side lounge, where you can also snaffle a six-plate tasting menu and unlimited champagne (or Nyetimber), before being chauffeured to your departure gate (not plane – you can’t have it all) by BMW.

Manchester’s aether terminal lets you do check-in, security and passport control from the comfort of your runway-side lounge - Toby Mitchell

But what, for the love of God, do you do if you want a Toblerone? Panic not, there are options – or at least there are at Heathrow’s recently revamped VIP terminal, The Windsor by Heathrow (from £4,060 for up to three guests), which features food by Jason Atherton and a private art gallery where you can buy paintings by David Hockney, Marc Chagall, Tracey Emin and Banksy.

However, guests of The Windsor can also be escorted to any of the shops in Terminal 5 or, should that prospect no longer appeal, a personal shopper can race around picking up said Toblerone, a beach read and anything else your cosseted little heart desires.

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