Yes, you can smoke at Greek airports: after security at Athens (ATH), in free ventilated indoor smoking lounges opposite gate A8, between gates B12 and B13 and near gate C34 in the satellite terminal, and at the regional and island airports in designated outdoor areas outside the terminal, before security. Greece banned indoor smoking in enclosed public spaces in 2010 (Greek Law 3868/2010), with enforcement tightened in 2019; ventilated lounges are the permitted exception.
Athens Eleftherios Venizelos (ATH) is Greece’s main transit airport between Western Europe and the Middle East, and its smoking lounges sit airside, so a connection there needs no exit.
How Greek Airport Smoking Works
The 2010 ban (Law 3868/2010) prohibits indoor smoking in enclosed public spaces; Law 4633/2019 (October 2019) extended that ban to e-cigarettes, and ventilated smoking lounges are the permitted exception, which Athens runs airside. In practice:
- Athens: indoor smoking lounges after security — opposite Gate A8 (Extra-Schengen), between Gates B12 and B13 (Intra-Schengen), and near Gate C34 in the satellite terminal; a second designated point serves the far end of the B concourse near Gates B19–B21
- Thessaloniki, Heraklion, Rhodes, Corfu, Chania, Kos, Santorini, Mykonos and Zakynthos: designated outdoor areas outside the terminal, landside
- Signed in Greek and English, free to use
Enforcement of the ban tightened in 2019.
The Major Hubs
Athens Eleftherios Venizelos (ATH). Greece’s primary international airport, named after the early 20th-century Prime Minister. Indoor smoking lounges after security — opposite Gate A8 in the Extra-Schengen area, between Gates B12 and B13 in the Intra-Schengen area (the sponsor-branded Winston Lounge, free like the others), and near Gate C34 in the satellite terminal — plus a second designated point near Gates B19–B21 and outdoor areas on the departures (Level 2) and arrivals (Level 0) frontages. The three sealed boarding areas do not connect after passport control, so match the lounge to your gate. Major transit hub for Western Europe-Middle East itineraries.
Thessaloniki Makedonia (SKG). Northern Greece’s main airport, important for Balkan connections. Designated outdoor areas by the departures upper-level entrance and the arrivals exit, landside.
Tourist Island Airports
Heraklion (HER). Crete’s main airport, serves substantial summer tourism. Outdoor areas by the departures entrance and arrivals exit, landside. A replacement airport at Kastelli, about 40 km southeast, is on track to open in 2027 and will take over from the Nikos Kazantzakis terminal.
Chania “Ioannis Daskalogiannis” (CHQ). Western Crete’s gateway near Souda Bay. Outdoor area outside the terminal, landside only — no airside smoking area.
Santorini (JTR). Iconic caldera-view island airport, with a single terminal rebuilt and enlarged in a 2021 renovation. Outdoor area outside the terminal, landside only — no airside smoking facility.
Mykonos–Manto Mavrogenous (JMK). Small, single-terminal island airport. Outdoor area outside the terminal building, landside only — no airside smoking area.
Kos “Hippocrates” (KGS). Single-terminal Dodecanese island airport. Outdoor area outside the terminal building, landside only — no airside smoking area.
Rhodes Diagoras (RHO). Dodecanese island gateway handling close to seven million passengers a year, most of them on summer charter flights. Outdoor areas outside the terminal, landside only — no airside smoking area.
Zakynthos “Dionysios Solomos” (ZTH). Single-terminal Ionian island airport. Outdoor area outside the terminal building, landside only — no airside smoking area.
Corfu “Ioannis Kapodistrias” (CFU). Ionian island airport near the Kanoni approach over the Chalikiopoulou lagoon. Outdoor area outside the terminal, landside only — no airside smoking area.
Tips for Smokers at Greek Airports
- Athens keeps airside indoor smoking lounges, so a transit smoke there needs no exit; the island airports are landside-outdoor
- Vapes and IQOS follow the same rule: designated areas only
- Athens is the only airport in our Greece coverage with smoking after security