---
title: "Smoking at Victoria International Airport – YYJ"
canonical: "https://www.airportsmokingzones.com/canada/yyj-smoking-at-victoria-airport/"
language: "en-us"
description: "Smoke at Victoria Airport (YYJ) in one of two designated outdoor shelters in the short-term parking lot, at the Arrivals end of the terminal building."
lastmod: "2026-09-25T00:00:00Z"
---

<!-- asz-markdown:a07dc80d0045bbd6acc52be6358fae33b9d30ceac3ddd250853c7320d12e3967 -->

# Smoking at Victoria International Airport – YYJ

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](https://www.airportsmokingzones.com/canada/).

## Useful Links

[Victoria International Airport (official)](https://yyj.ca/)

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Can you smoke at Victoria Airport?

Yes — Victoria International Airport has two designated outdoor smoking shelters in the short-term parking lot, at the Arrivals end of the terminal building. The airport’s own no-smoking policy keeps every other area, including the terminal interior, smoke-free.

### Where is the smoking area at Victoria Airport?

In the short-term parking lot at the Arrivals end of the terminal building, where the airport has installed two sheltered smoking areas. Both sit landside, a short walk from the terminal doors.

### Is there a smoking area after security at Victoria Airport?

The terminal interior and the gate areas beyond security are smoke-free under Victoria Airport Authority’s policy. The two shelters are landside in the short-term parking lot, so a passenger who has already cleared security needs to exit and go through screening again to reach them.

### Can I smoke inside the terminal at Victoria Airport?

The terminal building at Victoria Airport is smoke-free throughout, under Victoria Airport Authority’s own no-smoking policy. The two designated shelters in the short-term parking lot are the only place on the property where smoking is allowed.

### Can I vape at Victoria Airport?

Yes — Victoria Airport Authority’s policy treats e-cigarettes the same as tobacco, so vaping is confined to the two shelters in the short-term parking lot. It is not permitted anywhere else on the property, including within 7 metres of doors, windows and air intakes.

### Can I smoke cannabis at Victoria Airport?

Victoria Airport Authority’s published no-smoking policy lists cannabis alongside tobacco and vaping among the products it prohibits across the airport property.