Yes, you can smoke at Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport (NQZ) — the airport lists designated enclosed smoking rooms airside, after security, as a passenger amenity, and there is outdoor smoking space landside outside the terminal building.
Astana’s airport (its IATA code changed from TSE to NQZ in June 2020) is Kazakhstan’s capital gateway. It runs two terminals linked by an airside walkway: Terminal 1, the large international terminal opened in 2017 for EXPO, and Terminal 2, the older Kisho Kurokawa-designed building that now handles domestic flights. The smoking rooms are the officially listed facility; the exact spots below are traveller-reported, so follow the airport’s smoking-room signage to find the nearest one on the day.
Terminal 1 — International Departures
The official airport website lists an enclosed smoking room among Terminal 1’s passenger amenities, past security. Travellers place the airside smoking area behind the large staircase leading to the upper floor. Because both terminals share an airside walkway, international transit passengers can reach a designated room without leaving the secure zone or passing back through screening.
Terminal 2 — Domestic Departures
Domestic passengers report an airside smoking area on the 2nd floor of Terminal 2, past security. As in Terminal 1, the enclosed room is the officially listed amenity; the precise position can move, so check the signage or ask ground staff at the information desk if you cannot find it.
Landside and Winter Notes
Before security, or on arrival, smoking is permitted outside the terminal building only — step well away from the entrances to the marked outdoor area before lighting up. Astana is one of the world’s coldest capital cities, with winter temperatures that regularly fall below −30 °C, so the indoor airside rooms are the practical option once you are through security.
Vaping
E-cigarettes, vapes and heated tobacco are banned across Kazakhstan — import, sale and distribution — under criminal liability, so carrying a vape through the airport is risky. Rely on the designated smoking rooms for tobacco airside; the full vape rules sit on the country guide.
Summary table
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal 1 airside room (international) | Yes | Enclosed room, after security; reported behind the upper-floor stairs |
| Terminal 2 airside room (domestic) | Yes | Enclosed room, after security; reported on the 2nd floor |
| Outdoor landside | Yes | Outside the terminal building only |
| Vaping | Banned | E-cigarettes prohibited nationwide; carrying one is risky |
For Kazakhstan’s airport smoking rules and the nationwide vape ban, see our Kazakhstan airport smoking guide.