Sydney Airport could open a private pay-to-enter lounge when the current Qantas Club at Terminal 2 shuts down this month.

Qantas will close its T2 lounge in conjunction with the relocation of all QantasLink regional flights from T2 to the dedicated T3 Qantas Domestic Terminal from August 15, in what the airline has internally tagged as ‘Project Homecoming’.

While most Jetstar flights will continue to operate from T2, a Qantas spokeswoman has confirmed to Australian Business Traveller that the Qantas Club will be shut down and not re-open as a Jetstar lounge.

"The T2 Qantas lounge will continue to operate while QantasLink is in the terminal and close thereafter" she said. "Jetstar has no plans to take over the lounge”, adding that the space would be returned to Sydney Airport.

A spokeswoman for Sydney Airport said that while future use of the space was being considered, one possibility is for a user-pays lounge.

Such lounges are typically not associated with any particular airline, but operated by an airport or a third party company on a casual pay-to-enter basis.

“We’re certainly looking at options for the space” she told Australian Business Traveller. “That could be a lounge, or a gate lounge or retail space.”

Although T2 is shared by a half-dozen airlines, only two of these – Virgin Australia and Regional Express – operate their own lounges.

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