Bangalore Airport has 4 lounges in total, two on the domestic pier and two on the international pier. Both sides have lounges operated by Plaza Premium Network and Above Ground Levell. The Plaza Premium Lounge is used by most credit card networks and Priority Pass, while the Above Ground Levell lounge is used by Vistara, Diners Club, Priority Pass, MasterCard holders, Ola Select users and others.

Now, over the past few months, I’ve noticed that the quality of offering at the AGL Lounge has been going down. They have shut down the food live stations (Chaat and South Indian), and also the number of offerings offered for food have reduced.

Over the past month, I’ve been at Bangalore Airport twice, and after noticing this the first time around, I skipped my Vistara granted lounge access this past weekend and headed to the Plaza Premium Lounge instead.

However, it seems, the contract for the Bangalore Airport Lounges as well as the Day Hotel has now been shifted to a new entity, which is a joint venture between the TFS Group and Gate Group. TFS is one-half of the people who are offering the fabulous Mumbai GVK Lounge, and they also handle the Mumbai American Express Lounge now. So, over the next couple of years, the lounges would be taken over partially, shut down and done up again by the Bangalore Airport, before they hand them over to the new Lounge operator.

As per the Bangalore Mirror,

The refurbishment project would be carried out in two phases, lasting 18-20 months. Starting June 1, 2019, parts of the domestic and international lounges and transit hotel would be closed. The new lounge operator – a JV between Gate Group and Travel & Food Services India will take over operations.

This past weekend, however, I did not see any signs of a lounge being shut down for renovation. However, with this report, it sounds like it is a done deal that the lounge closure would proceed. Which one, not known yet. None of the current lounge operators have issued any statement or put up a notice to indicate a partial or full shut down either.

The Above Ground Levell lounge in domestic and international security hold area will be shut from June 1 till April 30, 2020. The Plaza Premium Lounges in the international and domestic departures will not be available for services between April 1 and March 31, 2021.

I’ll update this post when I find out more. In the meanwhile, get set to have a crowded lounge, whichever one is open.