Iberia Opens the Emerald Lounge Sorolla
Located in T4 at Madrid-Barajas Airport, the lounge spans 800 square metres and can accommodate up to 128 customers
Iberia has opened the new Emerald Lounge Sorolla in Terminal 4 at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport, offering the airline’s most exclusive and distinctive ground experience for Platino, Platino Prime, Infinita, Infinita Prime and Singular customers travelling on short- and medium-haul flights departing from gates H, J, K, M.
Spanning 800 square metres and with capacity for 128 guests, the new lounge is located in a prime area of T4, immediately after the security checkpoints. The space has been created with a distinctive proposition: to offer Iberia’s highest level of exclusivity through an experience built around four key pillars: quality, personalised service, Spanish gastronomy and wellbeing.
The opening forms part of Flight Plan 2030, Iberia’s strategic roadmap, one of whose key priorities is to continue enhancing the customer experience.
Personalised service
One of the key features that sets the Iberia Emerald Lounge Sorolla apart is its highly personalised service. From the moment they arrive, customers are welcomed by a dedicated team providing individual attention and assistance throughout their time in the lounge.
The aim is for the experience to begin from the very first interaction, with a warmer, more proactive and personalised approach designed to anticipate each customer’s needs throughout their stay.
Premium gastronomy
Gastronomy is another of the defining features of the Iberia Emerald Lounge Sorolla, with a broader, more sophisticated offering and a distinctly Spanish identity.
The menu has been designed to evolve throughout the day. Breakfast includes homemade pastries, a selection of breads, “pan con tomate”, hot dishes prepared to order, smoothies, yoghurts and vegan options.
Spanish tapas and Iberian products will take centre stage throughout the day, while lunch and dinner will feature dishes inspired by the Mediterranean diet, including vegetables, meat and fish.
The pastry and dessert selection, drawing on DO & CO’s expertise, includes homemade cakes and desserts alongside traditional recipes such as “crema catalana”, almond cake and “arroz con leche”. Even the Candy Bar features Madrid’s traditional violet sweets, a small nod to the city where the journey begins.
One of the lounge’s most distinctive features is its circular 360-degree bar, staffed throughout the day by a professional bartender. Customers can enjoy freshly prepared cocktails, a selection of wines, champagne, premium spirits and aperitifs, as well as a barista service offering a range of speciality coffees.
The new lounge has also been conceived as a dynamic, evolving space. Throughout the year, it will host experiences and activations showcasing products, recipes and different regions of Spain, alongside initiatives focused on gastronomy, cocktails and wellbeing. These will include appearances by chef Ugo Chan for live show-cooking experiences in the lounge.
A space designed to unwind
Wellbeing and privacy were two key considerations in the design of this new space. The lounge features private suite-style relaxation cabins, designed to allow travellers to enjoy peace and privacy before their flight, as well as showers and new comfort and cosmetic amenities.
Particular attention has also been paid to elements that often go unnoticed but play a crucial role in the overall experience, from indirect lighting and acoustics to the lounge’s signature scent.
Spanish design by Patricia Urquiola
The lounge’s furniture is 100% Spanish-designed and bears the signature of Patricia Urquiola, one of the most internationally influential figures in contemporary design and architecture and recipient of Spain’s 2025 National Design Award.
Every material, finish and piece of furniture has been carefully selected to elevate the premium experience while enhancing the sense of comfort, warmth and privacy.
The concept behind the Iberia Emerald Lounge Sorolla also provides a glimpse of some of the innovations that will shape the evolution of Iberia’s premium experience, while remaining consistent with the airline’s new Business cabin product, set to launch in 2027.
Sorolla: light, the Mediterranean and a way of understanding Spain
With the name of its new lounge, Iberia continues its longstanding tradition of celebrating Spain’s cultural heritage. Throughout its history, the airline has named numerous aircraft after renowned Spanish artists and personalities, a tradition it later extended to its premium Dalí and Velázquez Lounges.
Now, Joaquín Sorolla lends his name to this new space. One of Spain’s great painters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Sorolla is particularly renowned for his extraordinary depiction of light and the Mediterranean.
His name also embodies some of the qualities Iberia has sought to bring to its new lounge: light, warmth and elegance, together with an open, luminous and universal vision of Spain.
