Kazakhstan permits designated airport smoking rooms, so Almaty — the country’s largest airport — keeps an indoor smoking room after security plus a smoking room for its connected Extime lounges, even after opening a new international terminal in 2024, and Astana’s Nursultan Nazarbayev International has a 24-hour smoking room on the 2nd floor of each of its two terminals. The catch for vapers: Kazakhstan has banned e-cigarettes nationwide.
Kazakhstan Airports Compared: Before and After Security
Before security, you can always smoke outside: at a designated smoking area where there is one, or outside the airport property, beyond the terminal kerb and car parks. After security, Yes means there is a smoking area past security and a dash means none is listed. Each airport’s page has the details.
| Airport | Before security | After security |
|---|---|---|
| Almaty (ALA) | Yes | Yes |
| Astana (NQZ) | Yes | Yes |
For international travel through Kazakhstan, Almaty (ALA) is the busiest gateway; Astana (NQZ) is the capital’s airport.
How Kazakh Airport Smoking Works
Kazakhstan allows designated smoking rooms at its airports; the general indoor ban on smoking in public places covers everywhere else:
- An indoor smoking room after security in Almaty’s international departures
- A 24-hour smoking room in both Astana terminals, on the 2nd floor, with the terminals linked by an airside walkway
- One Extime lounge smoking room shared by the connected international Business and VIP lounges, and a separate one in the domestic Extime VIP Lounge (lounge access)
- Outdoor designated areas landside
- E-cigarettes, vapes and heated tobacco are banned nationwide (sale, import, distribution) since 2024 — heavy penalties
The Hubs
Almaty International Airport (ALA). The largest airport in Kazakhstan, with a new international Terminal 2 opened on 1 June 2024 and the original building (Terminal 1) converted to domestic flights. Almaty’s airside smoking room in international departures sits on the lower level of the departures concourse, as travellers describe it; the location shifted with the new terminal, so follow the signage. The connected Extime Business and VIP lounges share one smoking room, the domestic Extime VIP Lounge has a separate one, the domestic terminal keeps its own airside room, and outdoor designated areas are landside at the kerbside.
Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport (NQZ), Astana. The capital’s gateway runs two terminals joined by an airside walkway, each with a smoking room on the 2nd floor, in the departure hall, open 24 hours a day. Travellers described the Terminal 1 (international) room after passport control and security in June 2021, behind the large staircase to the upper floor. Landside, smoke at the designated spots by the bus lanes in front of the terminal entrances; Astana’s winters fall well below −30 °C, so the indoor rooms are the practical choice in winter.
Tips for Smokers at Kazakh Airports
- Almaty and Astana both have airside indoor smoking rooms — you can smoke without leaving the secure zone
- Almaty’s Extime lounges also have smoking rooms if you have access: one shared by the international Business and VIP lounges, one in the domestic VIP lounge
- Do not bring a vape to Kazakhstan — e-cigarettes are banned nationwide with heavy penalties
- The airside room may have moved with the 2024 terminal — ask staff if you can’t find it