It’s a red letter day in the town of Gander which is marking the official re-opening of Gander International’s famous airport lounge today.
The lounge was officially opened in 1959 by Queen Elizabeth II, and has seen countless celebrities and dignitaries over the years. It provided welcome refuge to people defecting communist rule in countries like Cuba, the USSR and the former Soviet block during the 70s and 80s.
The lounge also served as temporary shelter to some of the thousands of so-called plane people who arrived in Gander on flights grounded when US airspace was closed after the 9-11 terrorist attacks.
The terminal space, which features the mural “Flight and its Allegories” by Kenneth Lochhead, is considered one of the finest existing examples of modernist design in Canada.