Yes. You can smoke at El Dorado International Airport (BOG) — outdoors only, on the landside, away from the terminal entrances at both Terminal 1 and the Puente Aéreo terminal. There are no airside smoking areas and no indoor smoking rooms anywhere in the airport, so smoke before you clear security.
El Dorado is the busiest airport in Colombia and one of the top hubs in Latin America, serving as the main base for Avianca. Smoking is banned inside every enclosed space under Colombia’s national smoke-free law (Ley 1335 of 2009) and the local health authority’s regulation, and the airport applies the rule fully: the only place to light up is the open air outside the terminal buildings, well clear of the doors.
Terminal 1: Departures and Arrivals
Terminal 1 is the main building — it handles all international flights and the large majority of domestic ones, including Avianca, LATAM and Wingo. It has no indoor smoking room on any level and no smoking area past security.
- Departures (upper level): the check-in hall, security and the gates are on the second level. The practical smoking spot before a flight is the open-air departures curb where taxis and cars drop off, outside the check-in hall doors. Finish your cigarette there before you enter the building, because once you pass security there is nowhere to smoke.
- Arrivals (ground level): baggage claim exits onto the ground-floor arrivals forecourt. After you collect your bags and step outside, you can smoke in the open air on the pavement, away from the exit doors and the queues for taxis and buses.
The airport does not publish a signed designated spot at either level, so the working rule is simple: be outdoors, be landside, and keep a respectful distance from the entrances.
Terminal 2 (Puente Aéreo)
The smaller Puente Aéreo terminal sits apart from Terminal 1 and serves regional domestic carriers such as Satena and EasyFly; a shuttle bus links the two buildings. The rule is identical: no indoor smoking and nothing airside. Step outside onto the pavement in front of the terminal, away from the doors, before you go through security. If you are transferring between terminals on the shuttle, the wait outside either building is landside and open-air, so that is a workable moment for a cigarette.
Transit and Connections
Connecting passengers face the biggest constraint at BOG: there are no airside transfers. Every passenger arriving on an international flight must clear immigration and enter Colombia, even to connect. That has a silver lining for smokers — since you are landside anyway between flights, you can smoke at the curb outside the terminal before you re-clear security (and emigration for an international departure). Budget generously for the queues: El Dorado’s security and immigration lines can be long at peak times, and a smoke break adds the full re-screening on top.
One practical note for the walk outside: Bogotá sits at about 2,640 m (8,660 ft) above sea level. The thin air makes some smokers feel light-headed faster than at home, so take it easy on your first cigarette after landing.
Vaping
Colombia’s Law 2354 of 2024 regulates e-cigarettes, vapes and heated tobacco products the same way as cigarettes. Vaping is banned in enclosed public spaces, including both terminals. As with smoking, vaping is allowed only outdoors on the landside, away from the entrances.
Summary
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Indoor | No | No indoor smoking rooms anywhere in the terminal |
| After security / airside | No | No airside area — must exit, clear immigration & re-clear security |
| Outdoor (landside) | Yes | Outside the terminal, away from entrances |
For Colombia’s airport smoking rules and vaping law, see our Colombia airport guide.