Tbilisi Airport keeps airside smoking — travellers report enclosed, ventilated booths near gates 101-103, plus a smoking section in the primeclass lounge. Georgia’s strict 2018 indoor smoking ban exempts airport transit zones; the rest of the country is generally smoke-free indoors. Kutaisi (KUT) and Batumi (BUS), Georgia’s two regional airports, both keep smokers outdoors and don’t publish an after-security option.
For international travel through Georgia, Tbilisi (TBS) is the airport that matters; Batumi and Kutaisi serve regional traffic.
How Georgian Airport Smoking Works
Georgia’s 2018 law bans indoor smoking but explicitly exempts airport transit zones:
- Airside smoking survives at Tbilisi via enclosed, ventilated smoking booths near gates 101-103, plus a smoking section in the primeclass lounge
- The general departure hall is smoke-free outside the booths
- Outdoor smoking landside near the entrance
- E-cigarettes and heated tobacco are treated like cigarettes — smoking booths or outdoors only
- Kutaisi and Batumi each keep smokers outdoors, outside the terminal, with no published after-security option
Tbilisi International Airport (TBS)
Georgia’s main gateway, TAV-operated. Travellers report enclosed, ventilated indoor smoking booths airside near gates 101-103, plus a smoking section in the primeclass lounge — the law’s “transit zones of airports” exemption is why airside smoking persists here. The general departure hall outside the booths is non-smoking.
Kutaisi International Airport (KUT) and Batumi International Airport (BUS)
Georgia’s two regional gateways keep a simpler pattern than the capital. Kutaisi’s smoking option is outdoors, outside the terminal, and the airport’s own site doesn’t document an after-security option. Batumi’s own passenger FAQ confirms designated smoking areas exist without naming a location, so the outdoor ground outside the terminal — outside the reach of the indoor-smoking ban — is the option that’s always there. Neither publishes an equivalent to Tbilisi’s transit-zone-exemption smoking booths.
Tips for Smokers at Georgian Airports
- Tbilisi keeps airside smoking — head to the enclosed smoking booths near gates 101-103
- The airside smoking at Tbilisi is in enclosed, ventilated indoor booths, not an open-air terrace
- At Kutaisi or Batumi, plan your last cigarette before security — the outdoor ground outside the terminal is the option that’s always there
- E-cigarettes and IQOS follow the same rule as cigarettes — smoking booths or outdoors only
- The transit-zone exemption at Tbilisi means you don’t need to clear immigration to smoke
Georgia Airports Compared: Indoor, Outdoor & After Security
| Airport | After security | Indoor room | Outdoor area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smoking at Batumi Airport – BUS | – | – | Yes |
| Smoking at Kutaisi Airport – KUT | – | – | Yes |
| Tbilisi International Airport (TBS) | Yes | Yes | Yes |