Yes, you can smoke at Zagreb Airport. There are indoor smoking cabins after security in Schengen Departures on the 2nd floor and in Non-Schengen Departures on the 3rd floor, plus a designated outdoor smoking area on the ground floor landside before security.
Zagreb Airport (Franjo Tuđman Airport, ZAG) is Croatia’s busiest airport, served by a single passenger terminal that opened in 2017. The building is smoke-free under Croatia’s tobacco law apart from the three designated areas detailed below, which the airport keeps for departing and transferring passengers.
Airside Smoking (After Security)
The main indoor option is the smoking cabin in Schengen Departures on the 2nd floor, past the security checkpoint. It sits in the departures concourse near the duty-free shop and the boarding gates, so once you clear passport control and security you can reach it without leaving the sterile area. This is the cabin most travellers connecting or departing on Schengen flights will use.
A second indoor cabin serves Non-Schengen Departures on the 3rd floor, also past the checkpoint, and the airport’s official smoking policy lists it as one of the terminal’s three designated smoking areas. Passengers on Non-Schengen flights therefore have their own airside cabin and can smoke between passport control and boarding without returning landside.
Landside Smoking (Before Security)
On the ground floor of Schengen Departures there is a designated outdoor smoking area, landside and before the security checkpoint. This is the spot to use on arrival, while waiting to check in, or if you prefer the open air over an enclosed cabin. Because it is landside, you will need to clear security and any passport control again afterwards to reach your gate, so allow time before boarding.
For a short Schengen layover, the 2nd-floor cabin means you can smoke without leaving the secure area between flights. On a longer connection, or if the airside cabin is busy, the ground-floor outdoor area is the reliable fallback, provided you keep enough time to be re-screened before your onward departure.
Vaping
Croatia bans e-cigarettes in enclosed public spaces, and Zagreb Airport applies the same rule as for cigarettes: vaping is permitted only inside the designated smoking cabins. Elsewhere in the terminal, e-cigarettes must stay switched off and put away.
Summary Table
| Location | Area | After Security |
|---|---|---|
| Schengen Departures (2nd floor) | Indoor cabin | Yes |
| Non-Schengen Departures (3rd floor) | Indoor cabin | Yes |
| Schengen Departures (Ground Floor) | Outdoor area | No |
For Croatia’s airport smoking rules, enforcement and vaping law, see our Croatia airport smoking guide.