Smoking at Mongolia Airports (UBN)

English

Yes, you can smoke at Mongolia’s main airport. Chinggis Khaan International Airport (UBN) at Ulaanbaatar publishes an indoor smoking room in the ground-floor arrivals hall, a second indoor smoking room in the border-zone waiting hall on the departures floor above, past passport control, and a separate outdoor smoking point outside the building.

For international travel through Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar (UBN) is the airport to use, replacing the older Buyant-Ukhaa airport closer to the city centre, which kept the IATA code ULN and remains semi-operational for limited traffic.

How Mongolian Airport Smoking Works

Mongolia’s Tobacco Control Law bans smoking in passenger stations and on public transport as enumerated public places; a separate provision requires businesses and facilities over a set size to establish at least one designated smoking area on their premises, which is the basis for the rooms and the outdoor point at Ulaanbaatar’s airport:

An indoor smoking room in the arrivals hall, ground floor, landside
A second indoor smoking room in the border-zone waiting hall, departures floor, past passport control
An outdoor smoking point outside the terminal building
E-cigarettes are not separately regulated under current Mongolian law, and a proposal to bring them under the tobacco law was still under review in late 2025; the airport publishes no separate vaping rule for the smoking rooms — ask staff before using one

Chinggis Khaan International Airport (UBN)

Mongolia’s only major international gateway, opened in July 2021 to replace the older Buyant-Ukhaa airport. Ulaanbaatar’s smoking rooms sit on both terminal floors — one in the arrivals hall and one in the departures-side border-zone waiting hall — plus the outdoor smoking point outside the building. The airport handled over 2 million passengers in 2024 through its single terminal.

Tips for Smokers at Mongolian Airports

Ulaanbaatar keeps an indoor smoking room past passport control — you can smoke during a layover without exiting the secure zone
Landside, the arrivals-hall room and the outdoor point outside the building are the options before check-in or after landing
E-cigarettes are not separately regulated under Mongolian law and the airport publishes no vaping rule or vaping-specific facility; ask staff before using one in a smoking room, or vape at the outdoor point in the open air
Older booking systems sometimes still show the airport’s former code, ULN — the current international airport is UBN

Mongolia Airports Compared: Indoor, Outdoor & After Security

Airport	After security	Indoor room	Outdoor area
Chinggis Khaan International Airport (UBN)	Yes	Yes	Yes

Last updated: October 8, 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you smoke at Ulaanbaatar's Chinggis Khaan Airport (UBN)?

Yes — the airport publishes an indoor smoking room in the ground-floor arrivals hall, a second indoor smoking room in the border-zone waiting hall on the departures floor above, past passport control, and an outdoor smoking point outside the terminal building. The rest of the terminal is smoke-free.

Is there a smoking area after security at Mongolia's main airport?

Yes — the airport’s facilities listing places a smoking room in the border-zone waiting hall on the departures floor, past passport control, so departing and transit passengers can smoke without leaving the secure zone.

Are e-cigarettes and vapes allowed at Mongolian airports?

Yes — at the outdoor smoking point outside the terminal building, in the open air, where no law restricts it. The airport publishes no separate vaping rule for the smoking rooms, so ask staff before using one. Mongolia’s Tobacco Control Law does not currently regulate e-cigarettes, and a parliamentary proposal to bring vapes under the law was still under review in late 2025.

Where can I smoke at Ulaanbaatar Airport?

In the smoking room in the ground-floor arrivals hall (landside), in the smoking room in the border-zone waiting hall on the departures floor above (past passport control), or at the outdoor smoking point outside the terminal building.

What is Mongolia's airport smoking law?

Mongolia’s Tobacco Control Law bans smoking in passenger stations and public transport; a separate provision requires larger buildings and facilities to set aside at least one designated smoking area, which is why Chinggis Khaan Airport operates its indoor rooms and outdoor point.