Yes, you can smoke at Milan Bergamo Airport (BGY) — at open-air smoking areas after security, near the departure gates, so you do not have to leave the secure zone. There are also designated outdoor areas outside the terminal, landside, before you check in.
Milan Bergamo — officially Il Caravaggio International Airport at Orio al Serio — is Milan’s third airport and one of the largest low-cost bases in Europe, handling around 16 million passengers a year as a Ryanair mega-base. It runs from a single, busy terminal, so knowing where the smoking areas sit saves you a walk.
After Security (Airside)
The useful news for transit passengers is that Bergamo keeps its smoking areas airside. Once you clear the security checks, you can reach open-air smoking spots in the departures lounge and near the boarding gates without exiting and re-screening.
Travellers report open-air areas by the gates — spots near Gate A8 and in the airside shopping area are the ones most often mentioned, along with an area reached upstairs beyond the departures shops. The terminal has been through extended reconstruction and expansion work, which has relocated some of these areas, so treat exact gate numbers as a guide and follow the “Area Fumatori” signage on the day. A typical route travellers describe: go up the escalator from security, head straight, turn right at a café, then right again to a small open-air space.
These areas are open-air rather than enclosed rooms — expect a compact patch of outside space, often standing-room only with ashtrays and little or no seating. Because they are past security, they work well for a quick smoke between a connecting flight and your gate.
Before Security (Landside)
Before you pass through security, smoking is at the designated outdoor areas outside the terminal building. Step out through the departures or arrivals doors, find a marked spot with ashtrays at the curbside, and you are clear to light up. This is also where arriving passengers can smoke immediately after collecting bags, on the way to the buses, taxis, and car parks.
Vaping
Vaping is treated the same as smoking at Bergamo. Italian law extends the indoor ban to e-cigarettes and heated-tobacco devices, so use the open-air smoking areas — airside near the gates or outside the terminal — for vapes as well as cigarettes. Do not vape in the enclosed check-in hall, boarding gates, or restrooms.
Summary
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Indoor terminal | No | Enclosed spaces are smoke-free under Italy’s 2003 Sirchia Law |
| After security / airside | Yes | Open-air areas in the departures lounge and near the gates |
| Outdoor (landside) | Yes | Designated areas outside the terminal entrances |
For Italy’s airport smoking rules and vaping law, see our Italy airport guide.