Yes, you can smoke at Copenhagen Airport (CPH) after security — the airport keeps three outdoor smoking terraces airside, in connection with Gates A, on the balcony at the beginning of Gates C, and at gate E135. The Aspire Lounge near Gates A adds an enclosed indoor smoking room for lounge guests, and the landside yellow smoking zones between the terminals serve arriving and departing travellers.
If your routing allows a choice of European hub, Zurich Airport’s indoor smoking lounges after security and Helsinki Airport’s indoor smoking rooms after security offer enclosed rooms open to every passenger, with no lounge ticket needed.
Copenhagen Airport (Kastrup) is the largest airport in Scandinavia and the main international gateway for the Nordic region. Its piers are lettered A through F; every smoking option below sits in the A-gate area, on the C-gate balcony, out at gate E135, inside the Aspire Lounge, or landside between the terminals.
After Security: Gates A and the Gates C Balcony
The airport’s own smoking page puts the airside provision plainly: its outdoor smoking terrace sits “in connection to Gates A or in the beginning of Gates C on the balcony (after passport control)”. Copenhagen Airport’s customer-service article names “outdoor smoking terraces located at finger B and gate E135 after the security check”, and the official CPH airport map settles the count at three marked Smoking Areas airside today: beside gate A4 at the head of the A and B piers, on the level above the 7-Eleven next to the C-finger passport control by gate C26, and out at gates E135/E136. Every one of them is open-air.
The same customer-service article calls the C-finger spot “two smoking cabins located after passport control in C-finger, just above 7/11”. That is the same place the smoking page describes as the outdoor balcony above the 7-Eleven, so expect cabins standing in open air rather than an enclosed indoor room. Passport control applies only to the non-Schengen side of the airport: the airport’s live queue feed lists departure passport control at the C finger and at the E/F fingers, so the Gates C balcony and the gate E135 terrace serve passengers already on that side. Gates A are Schengen gates you walk straight to from the shopping concourse, past security only.
Passengers with lounge access get the one enclosed indoor option. Copenhagen Airport lists a designated smoking area among the Aspire Lounge facilities, and the lounge operator describes it as “a purpose built, self-contained and ventilated smoking room in the centre of the Aspire lounge”. The lounge is after security near Gates A on the first floor; any passenger can buy access at the entrance, and eligible members and cardholders are admitted on their card. The SAS Lounge and the Carlsberg Aviator Lounge both state that they offer no smoking facilities and point guests to the airport’s own areas.
Smoking During a Layover at CPH
Copenhagen is a genuinely transit-friendly hub. All three terraces and the Aspire Lounge room are airside, so connecting passengers can smoke between flights without leaving the secure area or being re-screened. The Gates A area is the one every transfer passenger can reach with nothing beyond the security check behind them; the C-gate balcony and the gate E135 terrace sit past the border check at the finger entrance, so they serve passengers already on the non-Schengen side. On a tight connection give yourself extra minutes, since the areas can be a long walk from the far piers.
Before Security: Landside Yellow Zones
Landside, smoking is at the outdoor areas the airport labels “yellow smoking zones”, between the entrances to Terminal 2 and Terminal 3. These serve arriving passengers and anyone who has not yet cleared security, and they are free to use.
Vaping
E-cigarettes are treated exactly like cigarettes at Copenhagen Airport — the airport’s official wording is that the rules for regular cigarettes also apply to e-cigarettes, because staff cannot reliably tell them apart. Use the designated smoking areas only.
Summary
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gates A airside | Yes — outdoor | In connection with Gates A, past security on the Schengen side |
| Gates C balcony | Yes — outdoor | Beginning of Gates C above the 7-Eleven, past the non-Schengen border check |
| Gate E135 terrace | Yes — outdoor | Out in the E/F piers, past the non-Schengen border check |
| Aspire Lounge | Yes — indoor room | Ventilated smoking room after security near Gates A; lounge access required |
| Landside yellow smoking zones | Yes — outdoor | Between the entrances to Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 |
For Denmark’s airport smoking rules and vaping law, see our Denmark airport guide.
Useful Links
Copenhagen Airport – Smoking in the Airport (official)
Copenhagen Airport Customer Service – Is smoking allowed in CPH? (official)