Air France Sauna Controversy Explained

Tracking the controversy surrounding the closure of Air France’s private sauna facilities in its Terminal 2E Hall L Business lounge at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport after reports claimed passengers had engaged in inappropriate sexual activity there. Air France has explicitly denied that account, saying the saunas were eliminated because of low usage and an effort to standardize its lounge services.

The Air France Sauna

Air France Opened Two Private Saunas Inside Its Charles De Gaulle Business Lounge. When Air France unveiled its redesigned Hall L lounge in 2018, it promoted a 550-square-meter wellness area containing two private saunas, luxury showers, relaxation areas and Clarins treatment rooms. [AIR FRANCE]

Passengers Could Use The Sauna In Private Rather Than As A Communal Facility. The sauna was part of a private suite containing a changing area and large walk-in shower. Travelers could receive exclusive access to the room for a limited period, making it significantly more private than a conventional shared airport-lounge facility. [LIVE AND LET’S FLY]

Travelers Began Reporting That The Sauna Had Been Permanently Closed. Frequent flyers reported in late 2025 and early 2026 that the sauna was no longer available, that its signage had disappeared and that the former entrance had been marked “Staff Only.” [FLYERTALK]

The Sex-Den Rumor

A Travel Writer Said An Air France Lounge Manager Blamed “Inappropriate” Passenger Behavior. Travel writer Matthew Klint reported that when he asked why the sauna had permanently closed, an Air France lounge manager told him passengers had been “doing things in there that they should not have.” Klint interpreted the manager’s response as a reference to sexual activity. [AIRDELAY]

The Report Quickly Turned Into Claims That Passengers Had Used The Sauna As A “Sex Den.” Online posts and subsequent media coverage transformed the ambiguous account of “inappropriate” behavior into a much more specific claim that passengers had been having sex inside the private facility. No publicly identified Air France official has confirmed that sexual activity occurred there. [PEOPLE]

The Viral Version Of The Story Spread Widely On Social Media. An Instagram post declaring that Air France had closed the sauna after passengers turned it into a “sex den” accumulated tens of thousands of shares, eventually drawing a response directly from Air France’s official account. [PEOPLE]

Air France Denies The Story

Air France Explicitly Denied That Sexual Misconduct Caused The Closure. Responding publicly to the viral claim, Air France said it wanted to “deny this information” and rejected the suggestion that inappropriate sexual activity was responsible for eliminating the sauna. [PEOPLE]

Air France Said The Saunas Were Actually Closed In September 2025 Because Few Passengers Used Them. The airline said the men’s and women’s sauna facilities were eliminated because of low usage rather than passenger misconduct. [PEOPLE]

Air France Said It Was Also Trying To Standardize Services Across Its Charles De Gaulle Lounges. The company said eliminating the sauna was part of a broader effort to provide a more consistent collection of amenities across its different lounges at Paris Charles de Gaulle. It said passengers would continue to have access to showers, rest areas and complimentary Clarins treatments. [PEOPLE]

Conflicting Accounts

The Travel Writer Stood By His Account After Air France’s Denial. Klint subsequently said that while he accepted Air France’s right to deny the sexual-activity explanation, he stood by his reporting that an Air France lounge manager had personally attributed the permanent closure to passengers doing things they should not have been doing. [MUCK RACK]

Air France’s Own Websites Have Offered Conflicting Information About Whether The Sauna Still Exists. The airline’s current passenger-facing page for the Hall L lounge lists showers and Clarins treatments but does not list a sauna. At the same time, an Air France corporate page continued to state that a sauna was available in the Hall L lounge, even after the company publicly confirmed that the facility had closed. [AIR FRANCE] [AIR FRANCE]

There Is No Verified Evidence That Sexual Activity Was The Reason Air France Closed The Sauna. The most sensational version of the controversy rests on one traveler’s account of an ambiguous conversation with a lounge manager. Air France’s official explanation is that the facility closed because of low usage and service standardization, and no independent evidence has established that passengers having sex caused the decision. [AIRDELAY]