Omniplax starts phased reopening of cinemas - starting this Friday

From Friday, July 24 facilities in Antrim, Carrickfergus, Downpatrick, Derry and Omagh will re-open.

And from Friday, July 31 Armagh, Banbridge, Dungannon and Larne will open their doors again.

In order for staff and guests to enjoy a safe cinema trip, Omniplex have implemented a range of new measures including:

* Pre-Booking of tickets – to control the number of patrons in our foyers and auditoriums, tickets need to be booked online.

* In-Cinema Seat Separation – our system will dynamically lock empty seats around your booking so you can sit next to your friends but will be distanced from others

* Limited capacity – we are limiting the number of guests at any time in the foyer or and our screen capacities will reduce by over 50%

* Enhanced cleaning regimes – including screens and all customer touchpoints. Guests will find sanitisation stations in each of our cinemas

* Reduced showtimes – only one movie will start every 20 minutes to facilitate social distancing and extra cleaning.

These policies will be adapted in line with official guidance.

Paul John Anderson, Director of Omniplex Cinemas said: “We’re delighted to be finally re-opening our cinemas over the next few weeks with a selection of popular classic movies. Guests will notice some differences during their trip like checking in with a host on entry, directional signage and self-scanning of e-tickets. Also, for the first few weeks tickets will also only be sold online so we can limit the number of guests per show.”

Omniplex Bangor is noticeably absent from the list and Paul John added: “We had always planned to close Omniplex Bangor for a major refurbishment. We’re aiming to open the new state of the art cinema early in September and it’ll be worth the wait!”

Excited cinema-goers will be able to book tickets online early next week at Omniplex.ie.

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