Yes, you can smoke at Varna Airport (VAR) — the airport’s own site permits smoking on an open-air terrace in the departure lounge, airside, after the security check, and outside the terminal building, landside. The rest of the terminal interior is smoke-free.
Varna Airport serves Bulgaria’s third-largest city, with scheduled commercial flights handled through Terminal 2 of the airport’s three-terminal site. Article 56 of Bulgaria’s Health Act bans smoking in enclosed public places and lets airports set aside separate enclosed rooms as an exception; Varna doesn’t use that room exception — its two smoking spots are both open to the air, which is why they sit outside the indoor ban rather than inside a designated room.
After Security — Open-Air Terrace
Once you clear security, the departure lounge has an open-air terrace where smoking is permitted — the airport’s site states this directly as one of only two places smoking is allowed anywhere on airport property. It’s a terrace rather than an enclosed room, so it’s exposed to the weather.
Landside — Outside the Terminal
Before security, or after collecting your bags on arrival, smoking is permitted outside the terminal building. This is the landside option and the only one available to anyone who hasn’t yet passed through the security checkpoint.
Vaping
Varna Airport’s own smoking-area page prohibits “any cigar, cigarette, e-cigarette, pipe or any other form of tobacco product” inside the passenger terminal and other airport buildings, so vaping follows cigarettes to the same two spots: the open-air terrace in the departure lounge airside, or outdoors before security.
Summary
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal interior (general) | No | Smoke-free throughout |
| Departure lounge open-air terrace (airside) | Yes | After security; open to the air, not an enclosed room |
| Outside the terminal (landside) | Yes | Before security, or after arrival |
| Vaping | Same as smoking | Open-air terrace airside, or outdoors landside — named alongside cigarettes on the airport’s own rule |
Sofia Airport’s free smoking area near gates B1-B4 and Burgas Airport’s own open-air departure terrace are the options if you’re connecting through another Bulgarian gateway.
For Bulgaria’s airport smoking rules and vaping law, see our Bulgaria airport guide.
Useful Links
Varna Airport — smoking area (official) Varna Airport (official)