India is the most flyer-friendly major Asian country for smokers, full stop. India’s national tobacco law explicitly permits airports to provide enclosed indoor smoking rooms, and almost every airport in our coverage of 65 Indian airports takes advantage of that; neighbouring countries have moved toward outdoor-only or total bans. From Delhi T3’s network of 10+ smoking rooms across the departure and transit areas, to small regional airports like Coimbatore that have post-security cabins next to coffee shops, India’s airport smoking infrastructure is dense, well-signposted, and (mostly) clean.
The big caveat: vaping. India is one of the few countries on Earth where vapes and e-cigarettes are completely illegal. The 2019 Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act (PECA) bans possession, sale, and import. Don’t bring a vape to India. We’ll come back to this below.
How India’s Airport Smoking Rules Work
The framework is the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) 2003, which bans smoking in all enclosed public places; it explicitly carves out an exception for airports, hotels, and restaurants of a certain size to provide enclosed, ventilated smoking rooms. Airports almost universally take this exception. The rooms are typically:
- Enclosed glass cabins with separate ventilation
- Located both before and after security at major airports
- Free to enter (no charge)
- Available 24/7 at international hubs
What varies is the number of rooms and how easy they are to find. Delhi T3 and Mumbai T2 have the most facilities. Smaller regional airports often have just one cabin, sometimes tucked away near food courts or at the far end of a concourse.
Smoking outside a designated zone is a compoundable offence under COTPA, with a spot fine of up to ₹200 — a small amount, and airport security will enforce it, so stick to the marked zones.
The Big Hubs
Delhi (DEL). Indira Gandhi International is India’s largest airport and has the most extensive smoking infrastructure. Terminal 3 — handling international flights — has 10+ zones across the departure halls, the transit area and arrivals, the best being the covered area opposite Gate 15 with a cigarette kiosk next to it. Terminal 1 (domestic budget carriers) has zones in the post-security food court, near Gate 13 and in the arrival hall; Terminal 2 (Air India domestic) has one at the food court after security.
Mumbai (BOM). Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has over 12 zones. T1 keeps post-security rooms near Gates 26-27 and Gate 1 through its redevelopment, so check signage during the closure works. T2 has domestic rooms on Level 3 (retail area, Gates 42 and 47) and international rooms on Level 4 (retail area and Gate 68), with arrivals zones by the baggage belts. Some T1 traffic has moved to T2 and to the new Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMI), which has its own airside smoking rooms below the CIP lounges, after the domestic and international security checks.
Bangalore (BLR). Kempegowda International has smoking zones in both terminals. In Terminal 2, the main room sits in Connecting Corridor 1 near Gate C3, with a large open-air zone (roughly 100 capacity) after security beside the walkway to the C and D gates and a landscaped garden zone opposite Bus Gate 18 in domestic departures. Terminal 1 has post-security rooms on the 1st floor by the 080 Lounge opposite Gate 12, opposite Gate 35 and opposite Gate 40, plus outdoor cabins and The Quad between the terminals.
Hyderabad (HYD). Rajiv Gandhi International has four domestic-departure rooms — Floor 2 by the prayer room below Apollo Pharmacy, Gate 12, Gate 124 and the basement near Gate 102 — plus an international room after immigration, the Encalm Lounge smoking room at Level E near Gate 23, and an arrivals zone by Belt 9.
Chennai (MAA). Five post-security zones across the three passenger terminals: Terminal 4 domestic has one next to Gate 1 and another by the Travel Club Lounge on the 3rd floor, Terminal 1 (the Kamaraj Domestic Terminal) has one at the far left of departures, and the international terminal (T2) has one near the gates on the left side plus one by the TFS Travel Club Lounge on the 2nd floor. The second phase of the integrated terminal, T3, is still under construction.
Mid-Sized and Smaller Airports
Most mid-sized Indian airports — Pune (PNQ), Goa Dabolim (GOI) and Goa Mopa (GOX), Cochin (COK), Trivandrum (TRV), Bhubaneswar (BBI), Lucknow (LKO), Guwahati (GAU), Ranchi (IXR), Chandigarh (IXC), Coimbatore (CJB), Mangalore (IXE), Trichy (TRZ), Bagdogra (IXB), Srinagar (SXR), Varanasi (VNS), Nagpur (NAG), Patna (PAT), Raipur (RPR), Indore (IDR), Ahmedabad (AMD), Jaipur (JAI), the indoor smoking room in the Security Hold Area at Leh Airport (IXL), the three smoking rooms at Tirupati Airport (TIR), Udaipur (UDR), Agartala (IXA), Jodhpur (JDH), and others — all have confirmed indoor smoking facilities (COTPA requires any airport smoking zone to be a separately ventilated enclosed room) or post-security access. Rajkot Hirasar Airport (HSR) has an enclosed smoking room inside its single terminal, listed by Air India; whether it sits after security is not published. A handful do not: Dehradun (DED), Bhopal (BHO), Vijayawada (VGA), Madurai (IXM), Vadodara (BDQ) and Imphal (IMF). For these, smoking is outdoor-only near the entrance. Kozhikode/Calicut (CCJ) sits between the two: the public option is the outdoor zones by the entrance and car park, with an airside smoking area inside the Bird Lounge for lounge guests. Visakhapatnam’s scheduled flights moved to the new Bhogapuram airport on 17 August 2026, and the new airport (which inherited the VTZ code) has smoking rooms near the Security Hold Area, per Air India’s airport information page; the old VTZ city airport, whose Security Hold Area smoking room served departing passengers until then, no longer handles scheduled services.
For directions to a specific smoking room, ask airline ground staff or the airport information desk — they are the customer-facing channels at Indian airports.
Vaping in India: A Hard Stop
The Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act (PECA) 2019 is one of the world’s strictest vape bans. Possession, sale, manufacture, import, and advertising are all illegal. Penalties for first-time violations include imprisonment up to one year and fines up to ₹1 lakh. Repeat offences carry imprisonment up to three years and fines up to ₹5 lakh.
For travellers transiting India: do not bring vapes. Customs at major airports actively scan for them. If found in your luggage, expect confiscation at minimum. The law applies to nicotine and non-nicotine devices alike, including IQOS-style heat-not-burn products.
Cigarettes themselves are legal and freely available — duty-free at the major airports stocks Marlboro, Gold Flake, and the usual Indian brands.
Tips for Smokers at Indian Airports
- Smoking rooms are typically signposted — look for “Smoking Lounge” or “Designated Smoking Area” arrows
- Ask airline ground staff or the info desk for directions
- The big four hubs (DEL, BOM, BLR, HYD) all have post-security rooms — layovers are easy
- Smaller airports may have only one room — look near food courts or at concourse ends
- The electric lighter machines inside smoking rooms are fiddly — wait for the red light, press the button (light goes off), wait a minute, then light from the amber coil. Step-by-step guide with video.
- Vapes are illegal in India — leave them at home
- E-cigarette cartridges and accessories will be confiscated at customs
India Airports Compared: Indoor, Outdoor & After Security
At a glance — which India airports let you smoke after security, in an indoor room, or in an outdoor area: