Where is it?
The Aviator Lounge, also known as the ‘Stockholm Arlanda Lounge’, is located in terminal 5 in the non-Schengen area of Pier F. The entrance is on the right hand side after the escalator from passport control.
How do I get in?
The lounge is used by most airlines flying to longhaul destinations such as Qatar Airways, Emirates, Iran Air and Singapore Airlines. It is also used by a number of European airlines flying to non-Schengen destinations such as Air Serbia and Ukraine International Airlines.
However the lounge is not accessible to SAS passengers, even though their longhaul flights to Asia and North America usually depart from Pier F. Business class passengers and gold card holders flying SAS have access to the SAS Lounge (business passengers) or the SAS Gold Lounge (gold card holders), which are both located before passport control.
The Aviator Lounge is also available using various lounge cards such as Priority Pass.
The lounge is only available when departing to a non-Schengen destination (they will usually check the boarding pass or at least ask about destination at passport control) and it is not available upon arrival as departing and arriving non-Schengen passengers are separated.
It is also worth noting that there is a second non-Schengen area in terminal 5, at the end of Pier B. If your flight departs from gates 17-20 in terminal 5 you will not be able to access the lounge.
What’s it like?
The Aviator lounge is located right above another lounge, the Menzies Executive Lounge, located in the same concourse but in the Schengen area. As for the layout they are nearly identical but operated by different companies.
There are large panorama windows in the entire lounge which makes it a bright lounge with plenty of daylight, however unfortunately the windows face the drop-off and parking areas at terminal 5 so there is no view of the apron and runways and little of interest to watch.
The design is quite modern and as the lounge was initially run by the company operating the airport, Swedavia, some of the furniture are also available in other parts of the terminal such as the work desks and the white and orange lamps. After the reception there are two large bar tables next to the buffet area with bar stools.
Further down the lounge there are different seating areas with sofas and armchairs in pastel colours such as green, red, purple and grey.
Food and drinks
The self-service buffet area is located just after the reception desk and offers food and drinks which vary depending on the time of the day.
Bread rolls, cheese, ham, yoghurt, cereals and other breakfast items are offered in the morning. Later during the day a cold buffet is available, usually with some pasta or potato salad, chicken, vegetables and bread rolls.
There are also cookies, nuts and crisps, fresh fruits and usually some kind of dessert such as chocolate cake or pistachio cake. For a long time the lounge also had a waffle machine, compensating for the lack of hot food (as there is no proper kitchen at the lounge) but it seems to have been removed now.
The drinks selection includes beer, red wine, white wine and sparkling wine, but no spirits. There are also juices, sodas and soft drinks as well as hot drinks with a rather good coffee machine.
Facilities
There is a TV in the lounge and a standard selection of newspapers available from a rack by the reception desk. Free wireless internet is also available.
There are restrooms in the lounge but no showers.
Anything else not to miss?
Many guests probably do not notice there is a second section of the lounge, located on the left hand side at the end of the main lounge through the glass doors. In this section there are more seating areas with sofas and armchairs and as many people do not notice this part of the lounge this section is usually empty and thus very quiet.
In this part of the lounge there is also a play area for children.
There are also a few work desks.
Final impression
Although not spectacular by any means this is in fact a rather pleasant third-party lounge with friendly staff, a good cold buffet and a reasonable selection of drinks. Nice modern design with plenty of natural light through the panorama windows.
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