Yes, you can smoke airside at Baghdad International Airport (BGW) in the lounge smoking rooms reported inside the Ishtar VIP Lounge and the Baghdad Lounge — both sit past security and are open to lounge guests. The public departure concourses themselves are smoke-free, so lounge access is the key to lighting up after security.
Baghdad International Airport is Iraqi Airways’ main hub and the country’s principal international gateway. Commercial flights operate as of mid-2026; service can be disrupted at short notice, so confirm your departure and build in extra time before settling in.
Inside the Terminal: Nineveh, Babylon & Samarra Concourses
The passenger terminal is built as three interlinked concourses named after ancient cities — Nineveh, Babylon and Samarra — with a separate VIP terminal for official delegations. The open gate areas across all three concourses are non-smoking. Reported smoking is concentrated in the airside lounges rather than in any public terminal space, so you will not find a walk-up smoking area on the concourse floor.
Airside Lounge Smoking Rooms
Two lounges are reported to offer an indoor smoking room after security:
- Ishtar VIP Lounge (the Iraqi Airways First Class Lounge) — listed with an airside smoking room.
- Baghdad Lounge — sitting in the centre of the terminal past passport control and open 24 hours, listed by lounge directories with a smoking lounge among its amenities.
Both listings come from third-party lounge directories rather than the airport’s own website, so treat them as traveller-reported and confirm on arrival. Access to either room needs lounge entry — a qualifying first or business ticket, a lounge card, or a paid walk-in — which means the smoking rooms are not public areas you can use elsewhere in the concourses. Two further lounges, the Ahlein Premium Lounge (boarding level, between the Babylon and Nineveh concourses) and the Iraqi Lounge (Level 1, by Gate 3), are not documented with dedicated smoking rooms.
Iraqi law permits designated indoor smoking areas under Directive No. 1 of 2014, which is consistent with a lounge operating such a room; the 2012 tobacco law otherwise keeps indoor public spaces smoke-free.
Landside & Before Security
Plan your last cigarette before you enter the building if you are not heading for a lounge — no designated outdoor smoking area is documented at the terminal forecourt or the car-park approaches. Enforcement in Iraq is reported to be loose in practice; there is no confirmed sanctioned outdoor spot to rely on.
Vaping
Vaping sits in a legally murky space in Iraq and is best kept out of the terminal at Baghdad Airport. The Kurdistan Region bans vape import and sale outright, so keep devices packed if your route touches the north. For the national vaping law, see our Iraq airport smoking guide.
Summary
| Area | Smoking Allowed |
|---|---|
| After security (airside) | Yes – reported lounge rooms in the Ishtar VIP Lounge and the Baghdad Lounge (lounge access only) |
| Indoor terminal (public concourses) | – |
| Outdoor before security | – |
For Iraq’s airport smoking rules and vaping law, see our Iraq airport smoking guide.