Yes, you can smoke at Chania Airport “Ioannis Daskalogiannis” (CHQ) — outside the terminal building, landside, before security. Western Crete’s gateway, near Souda Bay, runs from a single terminal building, and every sanctioned place to smoke sits outside it.
Before Security (Landside)
All smoking at CHQ happens outdoors, before you reach security. Travellers on Tripadvisor and other 2024–2025 airport-facility reviews consistently describe one designated outdoor smoking area outside the terminal, with no indoor room and no separate airside facility. Cigarettes and vapes are handled the same way at this outdoor spot.
After Security (Airside)
Once you clear security and passport control at CHQ there is no smoking area of any kind — no ventilated room and no open-air terrace at the gates. The departure lounge and every gate are smoke-free.
A connecting passenger who wants to smoke has to leave the terminal completely, smoke outdoors, landside, and then re-clear security to reach the onward flight.
Vaping
Greece’s 2019 anti-smoking law (Law 4633/2019) extends the indoor ban to e-cigarettes, so vaping at CHQ follows the same rule as cigarettes — allowed only at the outdoor area outside the terminal, with the indoor building and every gate vape-free.
Summary
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor area outside the terminal | Yes | Landside, before security |
| Check-in / security / departure lounge | Smoke-free | Indoor, no smoking anywhere inside |
| Gates (airside) | Smoke-free | After security, no smoking room or terrace |
| Vaping | Same as smoking | Outdoor area only, before security |
Crete’s other airport is nearby: the outdoor smoking area at Heraklion Airport (HER) follows the same landside-only pattern. The indoor smoking lounges airside at Athens Airport (ATH) are the exception among Greek airports — worth knowing if you are connecting through Greece.
For Greece airport smoking rules, vaping rules, and other general information, see our Greece smoking guide.