Kolkata Airport (CCU) has launched a deep-cleaning drive at the smoking rooms inside its terminal and put extra housekeeping staff on them, after a passenger publicly complained about their condition. The rooms stay open — the response was a clean-up, not a closure — so smokers flying through Kolkata keep the indoor smoking rooms that set CCU apart from airports where you have to step outside.
What Happened
On the night of Monday, 14 September 2026, a passenger posted photographs and a video on X, tagging Kolkata airport, and described the “pathetic condition” of one of the terminal’s smoking rooms. The passenger said the room looked as if it had not been cleaned for months and warned that the accumulated waste could become a safety risk. The Times of India, which reported the episode on 16 September, described the passenger complaints as being about clogged facilities and poor upkeep.
The airport answered on X on Tuesday morning, posting photographs of the cleaning under way: “We regret the inconvenience caused. Housekeeping and maintenance teams have been alerted for urgent cleaning and upkeep. A physical inspection is being carried out and corrective action will be ensured on priority to avoid recurrence.”
A senior airport official told the Times of India: “Passenger safety and comfort are our priority. We have instructed the housekeeping and maintenance teams to ensure that such issues are addressed promptly and do not recur.”
Who Keeps the Smoking Rooms Clean
According to officials quoted by the Times of India, housekeeping at Kolkata airport is outsourced to private agencies through managed facility tenders, with the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which runs the airport, monitoring the work. The agencies are responsible for deploying cleaning staff, supervising each shift and following prescribed deep-cleaning protocols in coordination with airport management.
The airport has also recently tightened oversight of contract workers, using biometric attendance to track shifts and cut absenteeism. A senior official credited that closer supervision with better terminal hygiene and fewer complaints about washrooms and other sanitation facilities, and pointed to the latest passenger satisfaction survey run by Airports Council International (ACI) as evidence of the improvement.
Where You Can Smoke at Kolkata Airport
Kolkata is one of the Indian airports that still keeps enclosed indoor smoking rooms, and AAI’s own passenger-information page for the airport lists smoking rooms inside the Security Hold Area — after security. Our Kolkata Airport (CCU) smoking guide has the room-by-room detail:
- International departures: two smoking rooms after security — one at the end of the hall to the left as you leave the checkpoint, and one near Gates 8 and 9
- Domestic departures: a smoking room to the right of security, at the end of the hall
- Arrivals: a smoking room just before the exit in domestic arrivals
- Check-in area: smoking rooms before security, for a cigarette ahead of your flight
- Outside the terminal: designated outdoor areas, plus spots near the parking area
Personal lighters are confiscated at security, so each room after security has a wall-mounted electric lighter; if you have not used one before, our guide on how to use the electric lighter at Indian airports walks through it step by step. Cigarettes are not sold inside the airport, so bring your own.
If a Smoking Room Is in Poor Shape
This episode shows the quickest route to a fix: the airport replied to the post on X the following morning. At the airport itself, tell your airline’s ground staff or the airport information desk, who can also point you to another smoking room if one is closed for cleaning.
The Vape Rule Is Unchanged
India’s 2019 Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act (PECA) bans e-cigarettes outright, and the airport’s smoking rooms are for cigarettes only — do not bring a vape into India, even on a connection. The penalties are set out on our India airport smoking guide, which also covers the smoking rooms at every Indian airport we list.
Sources: The Times of India, 16 September 2026; Airports Authority of India — Kolkata Airport conveniences