Avianca and TAP Air Portugal Open New Joint Lounge in Miami

Avianca and its Star Alliance partner TAP Air Portugal have opened a joint lounge at Miami International Airport (MIA) as the Colombian carrier launches new flights to its most important U.S. destination.

But wait, doesn’t Avianca already have a lounge in Miami? If you remember dining on Colombian arepas at the airport, you’re not mistaken: Avianca operated a lounge in the same location, MIA’s Concourse J, before the pandemic.

Like many other airport lounges, that lounge was a casualty of the 2020 travel freeze and remained closed for nearly five years. The 6,559-square-foot space is finally open again after six months of renovations in conjunction with Portuguese carrier TAP.

Photo: Fred Pedreira, Avianca CEO. Courtesy of Avianca

The shared lounge isn’t the most spacious or extravagant. Seating is limited to 158 guests, and the design is utilitarian. But sometimes, all you need from a lounge is free Wi-Fi, a bite to eat, and a place to unwind before your flight.

On its opening day, Avianca’s CEO, Frederico Pedreira, took the opportunity to highlight his airline’s most recent updates. “At Avianca, we continue to enhance the travel experience for our passengers. This new VIP lounge is just the beginning: in 2025, we will open two additional lounges, launch new routes in Business Class Americas, and introduce renewed experiences in Insignia,” he said.

“With this investment, we are reinforcing our focus on comfort, convenience, and exceptional service, ensuring travelers enjoy an unforgettable experience while traveling through one of our most important markets, like Miami,”he said.

Key Amenities: Wi-Fi and Dining

The lounge comfortably delivers those basics. There’s ample seating, with Wi-Fi passports and power outlets at each table. A quiet room offers more private seating and two large-screen TVs.

Photo: New Miami lounge. Courtesy of Avianca

If you want even more seclusion, head to the rest area, where the lights are dimmed, the walls are dark, and the chairs are oversized.

The business center offers a conference table for traveling teams. Individuals can claim cubicle-like places, separated by frosted glass and overlooking the concourse, with lots of natural light.

Family Features

Traveling families will be relieved to find a colorful kid’s area, with child-sized ottomans and tables and a TV screen broadcasting cartoons and other child-friendly content.

Photo: New Miami lounge. Courtesy of Avianca

There’s also a 24-hour buffet, with breakfast, lunch, and dinner options rotated during the day. There are no servers, but you can view the menu by scanning a QR code on your table before you grab a plate.

Colombian and Portuguese Delights

The Colombian and Portuguese flavors turn up on the menu. You’ll find Colombian arepas and Portuguese pastéis de nata, Portuguese Vinho Verde and Port wines and aguardiente, a type of spirit popular in both countries.

Photo: New Miami lounge. Courtesy of Avianca

There isn’t a traditional bar, but you can grab drinks—ranging from soft drinks to spirits—off a self-service bar and a row of fridges. Similarly, you can make your own Americanos and cappuccinos using two coffee machines.

The buffet offers plenty of U.S. crowd-pleasers as well, from domestic beers to scrambled eggs and pancakes.

Lounge Access

Free access to the lounge is available to:

First and business class passengers on same-day flights operated by Avianca, TAP, or other Star Alliance carriers, plus a guest.
Travelers with Star Alliance Gold status traveling on a same-day Star Alliance flight regardless of their fare class
Those with Priority Pass Select memberships (stay limited to 3 hours)

Other travelers can enter for a fee of $48.

Peak Hours: Best Times to Visit

The lounge is open 24 hours a day. Expect crowds between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., when Star Alliance carriers have the most departures. The airlines said around 500 guests have visited daily since the lounge opened earlier this month.

Photo: Miami lounge inauguration. Courtesy of Avianca

While the space isn’t the most glamorous, it’s a welcome addition to MIA, which, despite being the country’s tenth busiest airport, isn’t well equipped with lounges. In the South Terminal (concourses H and J) travelers have previously been limited to the Delta Sky Club and lounges from LATAM and Turkish Airlines.

The Turkish Airline space has been the only recourse for Star Alliance members traveling out of the terminal, but it’s often very crowded late in the day, especially because it’s a contract lounge for non-alliance airlines such as Emirates.

Photo: Courtesy of Miami International Airport

The Avianca-TAP Air Portugal space will provide a new port of call for travelers on the operating airlines and with Star Alliance members such as Copa Airlines, United and Lufthansa.

Avianca’s Expansion

Avianca is opening the space just as it expands capacity at Miami. The carrier already operates nine to eleven flights daily from Miami. Starting this spring, it will add new daily flights to San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO), Guatemala City (GUA), Cartagena (CTG), and Cali (CLO), Colombia, with business class seats available on all.