Yes, Cairns Airport (CNS) has designated outdoor smoking areas beside both terminals — one on the forecourt outside T1 International and one outside T2 Domestic. Every indoor and airside space is smoke-free, so plan to smoke landside before you clear security.
Cairns is a two-terminal airport. The buildings sit roughly 200 metres apart and are linked by a covered walkway. T1 handles international flights (Japan, China, Singapore, New Zealand and more) and T2 handles domestic services. Each terminal has its own outdoor smoking area at ground level, out among the forecourt and kerbside pick-up lanes.
T1 International
The designated smoking area is on the forecourt outside the international terminal, near the eastern end of the building by the bus and coach pick-up. Step out through the departures doors, keep clear of the entrances, and follow the signage to the marked spot. It is fully open-air — Cairns runs hot and humid year-round, so expect an outdoor break rather than a sheltered lounge. Arriving international passengers reach the same landside forecourt after clearing immigration, customs and baggage, so a post-flight cigarette is straightforward once you are outside. If you are checking in for a departure, do your smoking before you pass through security screening, as there is nothing on the far side.
T2 Domestic
The T2 smoking area is on the forecourt outside the domestic terminal, toward the northern end of the public pick-up lane. Cairns Airport publishes a dedicated “T2 Smoking Areas – Departures” map, so look for the posted signage as you exit the terminal. As with T1, it is landside and in the open air among the kerbside lanes. Domestic passengers who have already cleared security cannot come back through to smoke without being re-screened, so step outside first if you think you will want a cigarette before boarding.
Queensland Smoke-Free Rules
Under Queensland tobacco law, smoking is banned within 5 metres of any terminal entrance and across covered walkways, doorways and pedestrian areas — which is why the marked areas sit out on the open forecourt rather than under the canopies. Vaping is treated exactly like smoking, so use the same outdoor areas. Nicotine vapes are prescription-and-pharmacy-only in Australia and cannot be brought in from overseas.
Transit and Connections
There is no airside smoking at Cairns; the airport runs a formal no-smoking-airside policy, and Brisbane (BNE) is the only Australian airport with a smoking area past security. If you are connecting at CNS, you would need to exit landside, smoke on the forecourt, and re-clear security and screening before returning to your gate, so budget time for the queue. International-to-domestic connections also mean collecting bags, clearing customs and re-checking, which naturally routes you back out to the landside forecourt where the smoking area is. If your journey routes through Brisbane, you can use Brisbane’s Level 3 Smoking Balcony after security instead.
Summary
| Area | Smoking? | Location |
|---|---|---|
| T1 International – outdoor | Yes | Forecourt, eastern end near the bus and coach pick-up |
| T2 Domestic – outdoor | Yes | Forecourt, northern end of the public pick-up lane |
| Indoor terminals | No | Smoke-free under Queensland law |
| Airside / after security | No | No-smoking-airside policy — smoke landside first |
For Australia-wide airport smoking rules, the vape ban and other general info, see our Australia smoking guide.