On May 3rd 2021, the Star Alliance will tighten the rules for elite members who want to invite a guest into Star Alliance lounges.

The current rules state that you are allowed a guest travelling on any Star Alliance departure that day (see below from the Star Alliance website which has not yet been updated with the new rules):

According to an announcement from Star alliance member SAS today, via email to its EuroBonus members, in the future you will only be able to take a guest into the lounge if they are on the same flight as you:

“CHANGE OF STAR LOUNGE GUEST POLICY

From May 3, 2021, as a Star Gold member, you can bring a guest to Star lounges if you both travel on the same Star Alliance flight. As a Diamond member of SAS EuroBonus, you can continue to bring a guest or up to four family members to SAS Lounges, as long as everyone travels with the same SAS, Star Alliance or Widerøe aircraft.”

The websites of SAS and Star Alliance have not yet been updated with the new requirements, but other alliance members like Aegean, have now written about the change:

“We would like to inform our Gold members that they can visit Star Alliance Lounges with a guest of theirs, only if they travel on the same flight,  as of 03.05.2021 . Until that date, the access is allowed even if Gold members and their partners travel with different flights of Star Alliance.”

Bottom line

If you usually just invite your partner or other travel companion, this change is unlikely to bother you very much. However, many popular online forums discuss meet-ups to invite strangers into the lounge. (a neat way to meet a fellow travel enthusiast) And some of you might use your status to guest in friends and work colleagues flying elsewhere. In these situations, the Star Alliance will no longer work so well for your needs…

Image: Star Alliance