The Wayne County Airport Authority (WCAA) withdrew its indoor cigar lounge proposal for Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) on July 15, 2026, ending a nine-month process that would have created the first new airside indoor smoking facility at a major US hub in over a decade. The authority cited economic uncertainty following Spirit Airlines’ shutdown in May 2026, which cut a significant share of DTW’s traffic.
The original Request for Proposals, issued October 1, 2025, sought an operator for an indoor cigar lounge — including a restaurant, retail cigar sales, and an enclosed indoor smoking area — in Concourse A of the McNamara Terminal, with vendor proposals due February 2026. Had a vendor been selected, DTW would have needed an exception to Michigan’s Dr. Ron Davis Smoke-Free Air Law (Public Act 188 of 2009), which has kept the terminals smoke-free since it took effect on May 1, 2010. No federal rule requires an airport building to be smoke-free — US airport smoking policy is set by state clean-indoor-air law and by the airport authority — and indoor airside smoking survives at only a handful of US airports: Las Vegas Harry Reid (LAS) under Nevada’s gaming exemption, Nashville (BNA) under Tennessee’s ventilated-room exemption, Gulfport-Biloxi (GPT) in a state with no comprehensive clean-indoor-air act, and Miami (MIA), which keeps an open-air airside atrium.
What Was Proposed
The RFP specified:
- 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 norm at US airports is outdoor-only smoking: indoor rooms closed as state clean-indoor-air laws tightened through the 2000s and 2010s, and the survivors run on narrow statutory exceptions (Nevada’s gaming-area rule at LAS, Tennessee’s ventilated-room rule behind BNA’s Travelers Post). Wayne County’s RFP signalled a willingness to test an exception under a cigar-bar/restaurant business model.
The Pushback
A coalition of major public-health organisations opposed the proposal throughout:
- American Heart Association
- American Cancer Society
- American Lung Association
- Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
The Wayne County Commission passed a resolution against it. An EPIC-MRA statewide poll of Michigan voters in late June 2025 found 77% opposed to the proposal.
The opposition’s argument centred on worker-protection concerns (TSA staff, terminal workers, cleaning crews would have been exposed), the regression of two decades of US airport smoke-free policy, and the precedent it would have set for other US airports.
Why the Proposal Mattered
Detroit Metropolitan Airport is one of the busiest in the United States. 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 have:
- Set a precedent for other US hubs to consider similar carve-outs.
- Provided one of very few US airside indoor smoking options for transit passengers.
- Given Detroit a competitive edge for connecting smoker travellers compared to neighbouring hubs (Chicago O’Hare, Cleveland, Toronto Pearson).
How It Ended
The WCAA withdrew the RFP on July 15, 2026, citing economic uncertainty after Spirit Airlines ceased operations in May 2026 and reduced traffic projections at the airport. No vendor was selected and no indoor smoking facility will be built under this proposal.
For travellers, nothing changes: DTW’s existing smoking setup continues as before, with designated outdoor smoking areas on the ground/arrivals level outside both the McNamara and Evans terminals. The areas are landside, so plan time to exit and re-clear security around a smoke break.
For broader context on US airport smoking policy — including the state clean-indoor-air laws that shaped today’s outdoor-only norm — see the USA country guide, our state-by-state breakdown of US airport smoking laws and the Ultimate Guide to Smoking at Airports.