Yes, you can smoke at Victoria International Airport (YYJ) — in one of two designated outdoor smoking shelters in the short-term parking lot, at the Arrivals end of the terminal building. Both are landside, and the airport’s published no-smoking policy keeps everywhere else, including the terminal interior, smoke-free.
Victoria International is Vancouver Island’s main airport, a single-terminal facility.
Where to Smoke
The two designated smoking shelters sit in the short-term parking lot, at the Arrivals end of the terminal building. Victoria Airport Authority’s no-smoking policy makes these the only locations on airport property where smoking or vaping is allowed; everywhere else, including the curbside outside the terminal doors, is off-limits within 7 metres of doorways, windows, air intakes and bus stops.
There is no indoor smoking room and nothing airside — the policy prohibits smoking throughout the terminal building without exception. If you are dropped off at Departures, plan your last cigarette before you head in for check-in and screening, since the shelters are at the opposite, Arrivals end of the building.
After Security and Connecting
YYJ has no smoking facility of any kind past the security checkpoint. Once through screening, the shelters in the short-term parking lot are no longer reachable without exiting and clearing security again — realistic only if your connection allows enough time for the walk and the queue.
Vaping and Cannabis
Victoria Airport Authority’s no-smoking policy treats e-cigarettes the same as tobacco: vaping is confined to the two shelters in the short-term parking lot and is not permitted anywhere else on the property. The same policy lists cannabis alongside tobacco and vaping among the products it prohibits across the airport, with a narrow exception for ceremonial tobacco use tied to Indigenous cultural practice.
Summary
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Indoor terminal | No | Smoke-free throughout, no exceptions |
| After security / airside | No | No indoor or airside smoking facility |
| Short-term parking lot (Arrivals end) | Yes | Two designated outdoor shelters |
| Vaping | Same shelters | Treated identically to tobacco |
| Cannabis | No | Prohibited under the airport’s policy |
For Canada’s airport smoking rules and vaping law, see our Canada airport guide.