Heathrow is taking the art of the private lounge to a new level with an upgraded terminal where VIPs can peruse pieces from the likes of David Hockney, Tracey Emin, and Francis Bacon.

The Windsor by Heathrow, as it’s now called, is an exclusive VIP suite inside the London airport, that caters to high profile fliers from world leaders to A-list celebrities.

The private terminal has been refurbished to a startlingly luxurious degree, with prices starting at £3,812 (€4,575) for up to three guests, who must be flying first or business class.

“From our carefully curated interiors to our exceptional service, we provide our guests with an unparalleled experience that reflects the finest of British hospitality,” says Charlotte Burns, VIP lead at Heathrow.

Deep-pocketed passengers can also enjoy a private chauffeur service in an electric BMW from front door to plane door, a private butler service, and exclusive dishes from a Michelin-starred chef.

Heathrow has a rich history of luxury lounges

The Windsor by Heathrow signals “a new chapter in luxury travel” according to the airport – but a fair few chapters predate it.

Heathrow launched the world’s first airport VIP service in the early sixties, initially serving only royalty and diplomats.

The Windsor Suite came on the scene in 2008, and the commercial service was officially rolled out a year later, in time for the London 2012 Olympics.

Members of the British Royal family, the Pope, and celebs such as the Beckhams have all made use of Heathrow’s luxurious side, where all airport formalities are handled by the dedicated VIP team.

The luxury airport lounge-cum-gallery where you can add to your private art collection

The Windsor’s eight private lounges also double as a private art gallery, showcasing museum-worthy artworks from around the world. Modern British artists such as David Hockney, Tracey Emin and Francis Bacon, as well as American icons like Andy Warhol, feature on the walls.

These pieces won’t be hanging around for long though: guests can purchase them through a QR code, and the collection gets refreshed every two months so frequent fliers don’t get bored.

Fine dining is a given, of course Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton has curated the suite’s menu since 2016, and is marking its reopening with a signature dessert dish of English butter shortbread with praline cream, Earl Grey tea ice cream, custard sauce, and charred mandarin.

But other ‘personal touches’ may surprise outsiders.

For special occasions such as birthdays or anniversaries, the VIP team promises to go the extra mile, with chefs on hand to bake cakes for last-minute surprises.

The Suite accommodates family pets, particularly dogs, when asked. And bespoke menus are crafted for Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, and even the quintessentially-British summer tennis championship: Wimbledon.

Then there’s the personal shopper, who will “navigate the back corridors of Heathrow” to take guests to their favourite stores in Terminal 5, such as Cartier, Burberry, Fortnum & Mason, Dior, and Rolex.

Europe’s other luxurious airport lounges

Heathrow has certainly pushed the boat out with The Windsor, but it’s not the only deluxe place the super-rich can await their flights in Europe.

Frankfurt Airport’s first-class lounge has its own terminal, where guests can make a day of it in private bathing rooms (one featuring a jacuzzi) before hitting the whisky-replete bar. A personal assistant is also assigned to each VIP to keep stress firmly at bay through the boarding process.

As a souvenir, first class passengers – who must be flying with Lufthansa – are reportedly gifted a collectible rubber duck.

SWISS Air’s First Class Lounge in Terminal E at Zurich Airport is also a destination in itself. Lounge guests have access to two hotel rooms with a double bed, a private bathroom, and panoramic views of the Alps.

The mountains also take centre stage on the 352 square metre terrace, where first class fliers can watch planes take off before their turn – champagne in hand.

Michelin-chef designed delights are on offer at Air France La Première Lounge at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, too, alongside complimentary spa treatments.

While off to the east of Europe, Turkish Airlines CIP Lounge at Ataturk International Airport was refurbished in dazzling style in 2019, serving high fliers at gastronomy stations.

The maiden voyage of a night train from Brussels to Venice didn’t make it to its final destination yesterday due to issues at the Italian border.

Instead, the train stopped in Innsbruck in Austria, 313km short of its destination, and passengers were moved onto a different train to complete their journey to Venice.

Train operator European Sleeper had called the route a “significant milestone” for the company, saying their “mission is to reconnect Europe’s cities by night, providing travellers with more options for sustainable and comfortable.”

Innsbruck was intended to be a “prominent stop” rather than the train’s final destination.

‘It seemed that everything was settled’

Elmer van Buuren, one of the two founders of the Dutch private railway company European Sleeper told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, that the Italian railways gave them little notice:

“It took nine months, hundreds of phone calls and meetings to start this project. We have set separate appointments with five services similar to ProRail, in each country crossed. It seemed that everything was settled, when, last week, the Italians began to change their minds and called us to tell us that we could not go beyond Bolzano.

Now it turned out that we couldn’t even enter Italy. They did not provide any reason. It is a typical phenomenon especially of the railways in Europe.”

Why was the European Sleeper train stopped at the Italian border?

Train travel expert Mark Smith, who runs the website the Man in Seat 61, was on the train.

He reports that the locomotive engines needed to escort the train into Venice were not available. He says European Sleeper were only informed of the engine issue on 4 February, the day before the train left Brussels.

“The train was due to terminate in Verona as two locomotives are needed to ‘top and tail’ the train in and out of Venice, as the Italian network no longer allows light engine movements around Venice. They couldn’t get two for this departure, should be solved for later ones,” Mark Smith wrote on X.

“They then got a phone call day before yesterday from their Italian operator, unable to take the train south of Innsbruck. Again, ES [European Sleeper] hope to fix this for later departures. It’s not easy, running a train across 5 countries!”

The train had travelled from Brussels in Belgium to Breda and Eindhoven in the Netherlands before moving on to Cologne and Munich in Germany.

What is the advice to passengers booked on the Brussels-Venice night train?

There are currently Brussels-Venice night trains scheduled throughout February and March.

The service is scheduled to run twice weekly for six return journeys, with the company saying, “This unique route caters to travellers seeking winter sports getaways, city breaks, cultural experiences, and the world-renowned Venice Carnival.”

At the time of writing, it is not clear if European Sleeper can ensure that the locomotive engines needed to transport their train within Italy will be available.

European Sleeper and the Italian Ministry of Transport did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Cross-border train travel in Europe is tricky

Some are seeing the night train’s shortened route as reflective of wider issues with European cross-border train travel.

It has historically been difficult for authorities and train operators to coordinate their services to allow trains to pass seamlessly over borders, as flights do. This is seen as a barrier to travellers opting for trains over planes, despite them being much better for the climate.

A report by the European Commission found that the total number of long-distance passenger cross-border services in the EU remained the same from 2001 to 2019, and overall they make up only about seven per cent of train journeys in Europe.

To help boost these numbers, Victor Thévenet, rail policy manager at sustainable mobility NGO Transport and Environment, says that planning a train journey needs to be much simpler.

“People need to be able to combine different rail operators and for this, you need to have your different tickets in one single ticket,” he tells Euronews Travel.

Buying train tickets in Europe can be complicated but the EU has a solution

There is currently no Skyscanner equivalent for trains. This makes booking and managing international train journeys difficult and often more expensive.

The EU has a plan to remedy the situation in the form of the Multimodal Digital Mobility Services legislation. It was delayed last year but it is hoped it will be given another chance this year.

It would create a platform where you could buy one ticket for an entire cross-border journey instead of having to go through multiple national operators separately and give passengers stronger rights if they were to miss a connecting train.

Guests at the summit discussed the future of the tourism industry – balancing growth, regulation and sustainability investment.

Miguel Sanz, president of the European Travel Commission, took to the stage in Brussels after an introduction from Euronews’ Meabh McMahon – stressing the importance of travel to Europe’s “lifestyle, culture and connectivity”.

He spoke of the effect of digitalisation of the travel sector and argued that more attractions and destinations must be available to book online.

Presenting Europe as “the world’s favourite destination”, Sanz said the region must strive to retain its competitive edge.

Sanz nonetheless highlighted the risks that come with large numbers of visitors:

“Overtourism is putting strain on infrastructure, housing costs, and local communities.”

Tourism investment and strategy for 2026

Apostolos Tzitzikostas, the European commissioner for sustainable transport and tourism, reasserted the importance of tourism for Europe, calling it a “powerhouse for economic growth, for job creation, for social development”.

He outlined the EU’s new tourism strategy for 2026, which will include a focus on:

• Climate adaptation and sustainability funding

• SME digital transformation, including AI adoption

• Infrastructure investment and visitor management

He emphasised that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)—which form the backbone of Europe’s tourism sector—must know how to access funding opportunities to remain competitive. Moreover, he noted how the European Commission has pledged to simplify financing programs.

“We need to make things simpler, and we will,” he stated.

Booking.com CEO warns of overregulation hindering competitiveness

Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking.com, raised concerns about regulatory hurdles slowing down Europe’s competitiveness.

Fogel also addressed overtourism, suggesting that some destinations may need to explore pricing mechanisms to control visitor numbers, but he stressed that governments—not private companies—should lead on this issue.

“As economies grow, overtourism is only going to get worse,” he warned, highlighting destinations such as Paris, Amsterdam and Venice.

New business models and revenue strategies

A panel featuring industry executives and policymakers explored alternative revenue models for tourism management:

Nikolina Brnjac, member of the European Parliament, highlighted the need for better destination management plans, citing housing shortages and infrastructure pressures from short-term rentals. She highlighted how Croatia has introduced a tourism tax on day visitors to ease congestion.

Daniel Attard, member of the European Parliament, stressed that local communities must be part of tourism decision-making, as not every region welcomes mass tourism.

Magda Kopczynska, EU Commission director general for mobility and transport, discussed aviation’s shift to sustainable fuels, noting that while alternative fuels exist, high costs and production limitations are slowing adoption.

Olivier Jankovec, director general at ACI EUROPE, meanwhile, called for greater EU support in scaling up sustainable aviation fuel adoption to ensure Europe isn’t reliant on energy imports.

Travel demand at record highs

George Simon, EVP market development head for Europe at Mastercard, highlighted in a presentation that 2024 was a record-breaking year for travel, with 7.4 billion consumers travelling globally. Notably, 83% of surveyed Chinese travelers expressed a desire to visit Europe, reinforcing the continent’s enduring appeal but also raising concerns about pressure on tourist hotspots.

Emerging travel trends indicate that leisure stays are lengthening, with the average trip extending by two extra days, benefitting local economies.

Additionally, the executive highlighted the “swift lift” effect, where events, like the Taylor Swift concert, boosted economies across Europe and subsequently underscored the power of organising such events in different destinations.

Managing tourism growth responsibly

The final panel discussion centered on tourism management strategies. A director from UN Tourism, Sandra Carvao, in charge of market intelligence, policies and competitiveness, stressed the importance of measuring community perceptions, noting that benchmarking data is crucial to addressing seasonality issues and ensuring tourism remains a net positive for local populations too.

Paul Kelly, CEO of Fáilte Ireland, pointed to Ireland’s high tourism approval ratings, with both locals and national stakeholders maintaining a positive outlook on the sector. He emphasised the need for ongoing engagement with communities to keep tourism development aligned with local interests.

Speaking on demographic shifts, Kelly referenced “silver tourism”, highlighting the growing market of travellers over 55 and the industry’s need to adapt infrastructure and services accordingly.

Policy and infrastructure challenges

Sérgio Gonçalves, member of the European Parliament (S&D), echoed overtourism and sustainability concerns, noting how Madeira faces similar challenges to other popular destinations.

“A great destination is only great if it also provides a high quality of life for locals,” Gonçalves said, emphasising the need for robust infrastructure and tourism policies. He proposed reducing airport charges and expanding off-season events as potential strategies to spread visitor traffic more evenly throughout the year.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) was another key challenge for island destinations, with Gonçalves stressing the need for better energy storage solutions and the importance of EU support in scaling up SAF production.

Marlène Bartès, policy officer for tourism at the European Commission, warned against using tourism as a scapegoat for broader issues, such as housing shortages, urging a balanced approach that learns from regions experiencing overtourism.

Private sector’s call for change

Zina Bencheikh, EMEA managing director at Intrepid Travel, argued that Europe’s tourism infrastructure is not currently aligned with sustainable business models. She stressed the need for structural changes to ensure long-term viability, particularly for SMEs that rely on peak-season earnings to survive through the off-season.

“The European tourism structure has been built in a way that does not fit our style,” she said.

Bencheikh also noted that catering for travellers over 55 is the fastest growing segment for Intrepid travel.

Looking ahead: A more sustainable future

In his closing remarks, Eduardo Santander, the CEO of the European Travel Commission, thanked attendees for their insights, underscoring the importance of collaboration in shaping the future of tourism.

“This momentum cannot be wasted. It must drive us forward to create a more sustainable tourism landscape,” he said. “We want to be the best—not just in sustainability, but in accessibility and every aspect of tourism.”