Yes, Leh’s Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport (IXL) has a designated smoking zone — an indoor smoking room inside the Security Hold Area, reachable once you have cleared security screening.
Leh is one of the highest commercial airports in the world, at 3,256 metres in the Ladakh Himalayas.
Security Hold Area (After Security)
The airport’s own facilities listing names a “Smoking Zone” — a smoking room — inside the Security Hold Area, in the same general area as the baby care room and child care room. It is the only confirmed smoking facility at IXL, so plan to use it once you are airside. If you cannot locate it, ask airline ground staff or the terminal information desk to point you in.
Before Security
No landside or outdoor smoking zone is listed on the airport’s own facilities page. The Security Hold Area room is the only confirmed smoking facility at IXL.
Vaping
E-cigarettes and all vaping devices are banned across India under the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act (PECA) 2019, so vaping is not permitted anywhere at Leh Airport — use the Security Hold Area smoking room for conventional cigarettes instead.
Summary
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Security Hold Area (airside) | Yes | Indoor smoking room, near the baby care and child care rooms |
| Before security (landside) | No confirmed zone | Not listed on the airport’s facilities page |
| Vaping | Not permitted | E-cigarettes banned across India |
For those connecting onward through northern India, see our guide to the indoor smoking zone at Srinagar Airport (SXR), the other main gateway into the western Himalayas.
For India airport smoking rules, the PECA vape ban, lighter-machine instructions, and other rules, see our India smoking guide.
Useful Links
For official airport information, visit the Leh Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport (AAI, official) page.