Archive photo shows a terrace in Luxembourg City Romain Gamba

Archive photo shows a terrace in Luxembourg City Romain Gamba

Terraces were allowed to reopen on 7 April, from 6am to 6pm, as a compromise for the hospitality sector, which was forced to halt public-facing activities except take-away from 26 November 2020.

Cooler temperatures and even snow prompted some eateries to install marquees and even wooden structures in a bid to offer some comfort for customers. However, a new bill updating the health measures in Luxembourg could outlaw these solutions.

The bill, which is expected to be voted on Thursday or Friday afternoon, clarifies the definition of terraces as “an outdoor space in the open air, open on at least three sides in order to allow the free circulation of air and natural ventilation of the space.”

“Should such a regulation be implemented, this would simply mean that restaurants and cafes, bars and pubs might close their terrace, as they would no longer be able to provide some kind of comfort to their customer,” Luxembourg hospitality federation Horesca told Delano on Tuesday.

It credits the situation to unclear communication on the part of the health ministry which has “led to misunderstandings and misinterpretations by some.”

“The opening of the terraces has long been announced, yet the ministry of health was not able to provide us beforehand with the necessary regulation regarding the definition of a terrace in the context of this opening,” it said.