The Wayne County Airport Authority (WCAA) issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) on October 1, 2025 for an indoor cigar lounge — including a restaurant, retail cigar sales, and an enclosed indoor smoking area — at Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) in Concourse A of the McNamara Terminal. Vendor proposals were due February 2026.
If the proposal moves forward and a vendor is selected, it would be the first new airside indoor smoking facility at a major US hub in over a decade. The 2016 federal labour-law ruling that closed almost every US airport’s indoor smoking lounge has held essentially uninterrupted since, with only Las Vegas Harry Reid (LAS) and Nashville (BNA) maintaining grandfathered facilities.
What’s Proposed
The RFP specifies:
- Location: Concourse A, gates 43-47, McNamara Terminal at DTW.
- Format: cigar lounge with restaurant and retail cigar sales, plus an enclosed indoor smoking area.
- Ventilation requirement: vendor must install state-of-the-art air-handling to isolate the space from the rest of the terminal.
- Operator: TBD — RFP open to commercial vendors.
This is unusual because the post-2016 norm at US airports has been outdoor-only smoking, with indoor smoking either eliminated or grandfathered (LAS gaming-area exception, BNA’s Travelers Post lounge). Wayne County’s RFP signals a willingness to explore an exception under a cigar-bar/restaurant business model.
The Pushback
A coalition of major public-health organisations is opposing the proposal:
- American Heart Association
- American Cancer Society
- American Lung Association
- Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
The Wayne County Commission passed a resolution against it. A June 2025 statewide poll of Michigan voters found 77% opposed to the proposal.
The opposition’s argument centres on worker-protection concerns (TSA staff, terminal workers, cleaning crews would be exposed), the regression of two decades of US airport smoke-free policy, and the precedent it would set for other US airports.
Why DTW Matters
Detroit Metropolitan Airport is one of the busiest in the United States, serving roughly 36 million passengers annually. As a Delta Air Lines hub, it handles substantial transit traffic between US destinations and Europe/Asia.
A new indoor smoking facility at DTW would:
- Set a precedent for other US hubs to consider similar carve-outs.
- Provide one of very few US airside indoor smoking options for transit passengers.
- Give Detroit a competitive edge for connecting smoker travellers compared to neighbouring hubs (Chicago O’Hare, Cleveland, Toronto Pearson).
For context, DTW’s existing smoking policy currently allows smoking only at the McNamara Terminal lower-level outdoor area, accessible without re-clearing security via the people mover.
What’s Next
With proposals due February 2026, a decision is expected later in 2026. If approved, construction and ventilation installation would likely take 12-18 months, putting any opening date in 2027 at earliest.
Travellers transiting DTW in 2026 should not expect changes to the existing outdoor-only setup. We’ll update this article as the proposal advances.
For broader context on US airport smoking policy — including the 2016 federal ruling that shaped today’s outdoor-only norm — see the USA country guide and the Ultimate Guide to Smoking at Airports.