Yes, you can smoke at German airports after security: every German airport on this site has an indoor smoking room, cabin or lounge after security, and most have marked outdoor areas before security. Frankfurt has ten or more lounges in Terminals 1 and 3, Munich has rooms in both terminals and the satellite, Düsseldorf on all three piers, Hamburg in the Skywalk, Berlin at five Terminal 1 gates and in Terminal 2 arrivals, and Cologne Bonn, Stuttgart, Hannover, Nuremberg, Memmingen and Dortmund each have theirs.
Germany Airports Compared: Before and After Security
Before security, you can always smoke outside: at a designated smoking area where there is one, or outside the airport property, beyond the terminal kerb and car parks. After security, Yes means there is a smoking area past security and a dash means none is listed. Each airport’s page has the details.
| Airport | Before security | After security |
|---|---|---|
| Berlin Brandenburg (BER) | Yes | Yes |
| Cologne (CGN) | Yes | Yes |
| Dortmund (DTM) | Yes | Yes |
| Dusseldorf (DUS) | Yes | Yes |
| Frankfurt (FRA) | Yes | Yes |
| Hamburg (HAM) | Yes | Yes |
| Hannover (HAJ) | Yes | Yes |
| Memmingen (FMM) | Yes | Yes |
| Munich (MUC) | Yes | Yes |
| Nuremberg (NUE) | Yes | Yes |
| Stuttgart (STR) | Yes | Yes |
How German Airport Smoking Works
Germany’s federal Non-Smoker Protection Act of 2007 (Bundesnichtraucherschutzgesetz) bans smoking, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco included, in federal buildings, in public transport — aircraft among it — and in railway stations; airport terminals fall under each state’s own non-smoker protection act, and the states on this page handle smoking rooms differently:
- Hesse (Frankfurt): the Hessian Non-Smoker Protection Act (HessNRSG) treats e-cigarettes and tobacco heaters as smoking, bans it in the publicly accessible buildings of commercial airports and exempts fully separated rooms that keep the smoke from others; smoking elsewhere costs up to €200, and an operator that fails to sign or enforce the ban faces up to €2,500
- North Rhine-Westphalia (Cologne Bonn, Düsseldorf, Dortmund): the NiSchG NRW allows enclosed, clearly marked smoking rooms closed to under-18s on an airport’s publicly accessible areas; a smoker outside them faces €5 to €1,000 and an operator up to €2,500; the act names no e-cigarettes
- Lower Saxony (Hannover): the Nds. NiRSG treats e-cigarettes and heated tobacco as smoking in the rooms of commercial airports open to travellers and allows fully enclosed side rooms marked as smoking rooms; it sets no fine amount
- Brandenburg (Berlin): the BbgNiRSchG bans tobacco smoking in the publicly accessible parts of buildings, names no airport rule and lets the state office allow exceptions where others are protected; the fine is €5 to €100, and the act names no e-cigarettes
- Hamburg: the HmbPSchG does not list airport terminals among the places it covers, so Hamburg Airport’s own rule applies: smoking in the designated areas only; where the act applies, smoking elsewhere costs €20 to €400
- E-cigarettes: Frankfurt, Hannover and Berlin apply their smoking rules to them; Cologne Bonn and Hamburg publish no vaping rule, so ask staff
The Major Hubs
Frankfurt (FRA). Indoor smoking lounges after security: Terminal 1 has three in Area A (Level 2), at least two in Area B (Level 2) and three in Area Z (Level 3), and Terminal 3 has one in Area H (Level 2) and one in Area J (Level 3), all open 00:00–23:59, with smaller smoking booths in the terminals. Before security, there are marked smoking areas in the public area of both terminals. A reader wrote on 31 August 2026 that the C gates have no smoking lounge; the airport lists none in Area C after security.
Munich (MUC). Indoor smoking rooms after security in Terminal 1 Modules A, B, C, D and F, in Terminal 2’s G and H concourses and in the Terminal 2 satellite, by Gates K11 and K23 and near Gates L15 and L23–L24. Before security, outdoor areas in front of the terminal entrances and in the open-air parts of the Munich Airport Center.
Düsseldorf (DUS). Glass-enclosed smoking lounges after security on Pier A (across from Gate A50) and on Pier C (the Winston Lounge between Gates C31 and C32); travellers place two rooms on Pier B. Before security, outdoor areas on Level 01 (arrivals) and Level 02 (departures).
Hamburg (HAM). A smoking lounge after security in the Skywalk between Gates C16 and C15, and a separate smoking room in the paid Hamburg Airport Lounge (Airport Plaza, Level 3, €47). Before security, smoking zones outside the terminals on the arrivals and departures levels.
Stuttgart (STR). Indoor smoking lounges after security: Terminal 1 in front of Gates 169/170, a glass booth in Terminal 3 by Gate 330 and a room near Gate 409. Before security, outdoor areas on Level 2 (departures) and Level 0 (arrivals).
Cologne Bonn (CGN). A smoking spot after security in the departure area of each terminal, towards the B gates in Terminal 1 and the D gates in Terminal 2; the airport lists no smoking area before security, so ask staff.
Berlin and the Regional Airports
Berlin Brandenburg (BER) has smoking cabins after security in Terminal 1 at Gate A02, Gate A38, Gate B02, Gates B30/31 and Gate C01, the A38 and B30/31 cabins open around the clock, and a cabin in the Terminal 2 arrivals area, which Jasper, a reader, described on 16 April 2026 as a small cabin past security; marked outdoor areas stand by the entrances of both terminals.
Hannover (HAJ) has a smoking cabin after security in each of Terminals A, B, C and D, and marked smoking areas in front of the terminal buildings. Nuremberg (NUE) has outdoor smoking areas in the terminal forecourt and smoking cabins by the gates after security. Memmingen (FMM) has all its published smoking spots after security: a beer garden and a smoking cabin at Gate 1, plus a cabin after passport control for non-Schengen flights, with no area published before security. Dortmund (DTM) has a smokers’ lounge after security and a designated outdoor area in front of the terminal.
Tips for Smokers at German Airports
- Every German airport on this site has an indoor smoking room, cabin or lounge after security; on a connection, ask staff whether your route passes a control on the way to the nearest one
- At Berlin, the Gate A38 and Gates B30/31 cabins are open around the clock; the other Terminal 1 cabins open with the flight times
- At Frankfurt, the lounges are open 00:00–23:59; the airport lists none in Area C after security
- Cologne Bonn lists no smoking area before security, and Memmingen publishes none before security: ask staff
- Vaping follows the smoking rule at Frankfurt, Hannover and Berlin; where an airport publishes no vaping rule, ask staff