- Introduction: Qsuites To Armenia
- Review: Qatar Airways Qsuites 777 New York To Doha
- Review: Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan
- Review: Hyatt Place Yerevan
- Review: Yerevan Airport Lounge
- Review: Qatar Airways Business Class A320 Yerevan To Doha
- Review: Qatar Airways Qsuites Business Class 777 Doha To New York
My original trip to the airport didn’t work out quite the way I had hoped. I initially showed up at 12:30AM, only to be sent to the Qatar Airways ticketing office, where I was informed that the flight had been delayed by 10 hours due to fog. See my previous post for more on that.
Qatar Airways ticketing office Yerevan Airport
After getting a few hours of sleep, I returned to the airport at around 9:30AM the following morning — Yerevan Airport is beautiful, which I wasn’t expecting. Nowadays we see a lot of mega-airports that are modern and have great architecture, though it’s rare to see a small airport that’s this nice.
Yerevan Airport exterior
The check-in area was a good size, and this time around I was happy to see that Qatar Airways check-in was actually open, meaning that I had a chance of getting out of here (in fairness, I was also sure to check that the plane had taken off from Doha before leaving for the airport).
Yerevan Airport check-in hall
There were a good number of people at check-in, and even though I was the only business class passenger, they had the business class check-in open. Within a few minutes I was presented with my boarding pass and lounge invitation.
Qatar Airways check-in Yerevan Airport
Qatar Airways check-in Yerevan Airport
After check-in I headed through immigration and security, both of which were efficient, and within five minutes I found myself in the maze of duty free shops (which an ever-increasing number of airports force you to walk through).
Yerevan Airport duty free shops
Yerevan Airport only has six gates, and the layout of the terminal couldn’t be easier. The terminal is just one big room, with all the gates next to one another.
Yerevan Airport gate area
Yerevan Airport gate area
Concessions were fairly limited, though there was a Cinnabon… mmmm.
Yerevan Airport concessions
At first I couldn’t find the entrance to the lounge, though after backtracking I realized that the entrance to the lounge was in the duty free shops just past the security checkpoint. There I took the elevator up a level to the lounge (the concourse is on level three, while the lounge is on level four).
Elevator to Yerevan Airport Lounge
The airport just has one lounge — the Converse Bank Business Lounge — which is accessible by all premium passengers, and is open 24 hours per day.
Yerevan Airport Lounge reception
This is also a Priority Pass lounge, so plenty of people with major premium credit cards can get in as well. The number of Priority Pass members has increased greatly the past couple of years, since now there are quite a few credit cards with lounge access. The following are some of the popular premium US credit cards that come with Priority Pass memberships (along with their respective guesting privileges):
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
The Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Much like the rest of the airport, the lounge was airy and had plenty of natural light. Past the entrance you could turn either left or right. Turning right, there were chairs arranged in rows, a few couches, and then also some daybeds.
Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge seating
Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge seating
Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge seating
Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge seating
In the far corner of the lounge was a smoking room.
Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge smoking room
Back on the opposite side of the lounge was the buffet, and past that was the cafe area, with a bunch of tables seating 2-3 people each, as well as some high-top seating.
Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge buffet
Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge dining area
Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge seating
Then there was some more traditional lounge seating, with chairs arranged in rows facing one another.
Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge seating
Past that were a couple of semi-private areas, one of which was a TV room, with seating for maybe 10 people.
Yerevan Airport Lounge seating
Yerevan Airport Lounge seating
Yerevan Airport Lounge seating
The entire lounge looked out over the interior of the terminal — you could only see the apron and runway in the distance.
Yerevan Airport Lounge view
The food and drink selection in the lounge was alright.
Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge buffet
Food options included chips, yogurt, cereal, breadsticks, finger sandwiches, croissants, muffins, and all kinds of other sweets.
Yerevan Airport Business Lounge food selection
Yerevan Airport Business Lounge food selection
Yerevan Airport Business Lounge food selection
Yerevan Airport Business Lounge food selection
There was a little panini maker, which I guess was intended in case you wanted to warm up the finger sandwiches?
Yerevan Airport Business Lounge panini maker
In many ways the drink selection was more extensive than the food selection. There were two coffee machines, tea, soda, juice, water, wine, and a decent enough selection of liquor.
Yerevan Airport Business Lounge coffee machines
Yerevan Airport Business Lounge tea selection
Yerevan Airport Business Lounge soda selection
Yerevan Airport Business Lounge drink selection
Yerevan Airport Business Lounge drink selection
Yerevan Airport Business Lounge wine selection
Yerevan Airport Business Lounge liquor selection
The lounge even had shot glasses — it’s not every day you see that!
Yerevan Airport Business Lounge shot glasses
The lounge’s restrooms were located inside and to the left, and were clean.
Yerevan Airport Business Lounge bathroom
Yerevan Airport Business Lounge bathroom
The lounge had Wi-Fi which was free and fast. The lounge was quiet when I was there, and even quieter after the flight to Moscow boarded (Moscow seems to be the most popular destination from Yerevan).
Yerevan Airport departures board
At around 11:15AM I noticed that the inbound flight from Doha had arrived, so I decided to head down to the departure gate, which was gate 4.
Qatar Airways A320 Yerevan Airport
Yerevan Airport departure gate
The gate area was really empty, as there were at most about 30 people on the flight.
Yerevan Airport departure gate
That doesn’t include Santa Claus statue sitting in the gate area. 😉
Santa sitting in the departures area Yerevan Airport
At around 11:40AM boarding was called, and I was the first onboard. As I boarded I saw the Qatar Airways supervisor who had helped me rebook overnight. He confirmed that he still hadn’t slept — poor guy!
Yerevan Airport Lounge bottom line
Yerevan Airport was so much nicer than I was expecting. This has to be one of the nicest small airports out there. The lounge was also solid, with plenty of seating, fresh decor, and a decent food and drink selection. I wouldn’t arrive earlier than you need to (especially given how easy the airport is to use), but there are worse places to kill time.
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Business Platinum® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees).
wow i got very emotional i visited Yerevan and passed thru its airport in 1996. it was a ghost airport no one was coming thru or passing thru. it was just my family on that day. the energy inside was very gloomy and sad. now to see what it has become i am speechless.
i am glad i googled and thanks for sharing these pics.
Thx for the report, I was there for a 4:30AM flight to Kiev (back in 2016), and my only enjoyment from the lounge were 4 walks to the coffee machine...
Inspiring to see flights to Istanbul from EVN, brings hope to peace in other places too.
Agree, it is a nice lounge and you’re right,finding it is not so obvious. Good WiFi as well I thought
@YULtide
Nice dry humor, I appreciate it ;)
You say that they were offering finger sandwiches. My Armenian is a little rusty, but I'm pretty sure the sign says cheese sandwiches.
@Marco - the reason is because they (Cinnabon) are... anything else you can find in Europe is better
It may not be a large selection. But the lounge does have one of my favorite Armenian sweets... Gata or Katah. My mom makes it here in the states, we always used to buy it in bulk from a store in Philadelphia.
I always wonder why there are Cinnabon shops everywhere in the most random countries of the world opposite to here in Europe, where it's almost impossible to find one.
Most flights out of EVN leave at the worst of times... 3:00-4:00 am. Reminds me of my visit to the city and airport a few years ago.
What an aesthetically pleasing airport. Reminds me of the Scandinavian airports like Oslo and Helsinki.