Yes, you can smoke at Brussels South Charleroi Airport (CRL). After security there is an open-air smoking terrace above the gates 18-19 food court in the departures lounge; before security you can smoke in the designated outdoor areas at the terminal entrances. Smoking is not permitted anywhere inside the terminal.
Charleroi is Belgium’s second-busiest airport and the low-cost gateway for the Brussels region, roughly 60 km south of the city in Wallonia. It is a major Ryanair base with Wizz Air and other budget carriers, and everything runs through a single passenger terminal (T1), so there is one departures lounge to navigate on your way to the smoking terrace.
Smoking Terrace After Security
Once you clear the security checkpoint, the airside option is an open-air terrace rather than an enclosed cabin. It sits on the upper level of the departures lounge, above the gates 18-19 area, reached through the food court and catering zone. Because it is out in the fresh air, you stay airside while you smoke and do not have to re-clear security to reach it.
The terrace was added as part of the terminal’s commercial expansion, which built out an upper HORECA level with more food and drink outlets, a larger passenger lounge, and this roughly 370 m2 terrace where travellers can sit with a drink or a meal before boarding. That makes CRL unusual among Ryanair budget bases: transit and departing passengers can smoke past the checkpoint, not only outside the doors. Signage in the departures lounge points the way; follow the food-court signs up to the terrace level.
Landside Areas and Inside the Terminal
Before security, smoking is permitted in the designated outdoor areas by the terminal entrances, which are marked and fitted with ashtrays. These are the areas to use if you are still checking in, waiting to be picked up, or have just landed and left the building.
Inside the terminal, smoking is prohibited throughout. There is no indoor smoking room and no enclosed cabin at any point in the building, in line with Belgium’s indoor-smoking ban; the only sheltered-from-the-terminal option is the open-air terrace after security.
Vaping and Heated Tobacco
Vaping and heated-tobacco devices follow the same rules as cigarettes at CRL: use the airside terrace above gates 18-19 or the outdoor areas at the entrances, and not the indoor terminal, where e-cigarettes fall under the same ban as tobacco. Disposable e-cigarettes are no longer sold in Belgium, so bring your own device if you vape. Belgium continues to tighten its outdoor-smoking rules, so check the signage on the day in case the terrace or entrance areas have moved.
Summary
| Location | Smoking allowed |
|---|---|
| Open-air terrace above gates 18-19 (after security) | Yes |
| Indoor terminal | No |
| Designated outdoor areas at terminal entrances (landside) | Yes |
For Belgium’s airport smoking rules and vaping law, see our Belgium airport smoking guide.