The Philippines keeps designated smoking areas at its major airports. The two main international gateways — Manila Ninoy Aquino (MNL) and Mactan-Cebu (CEB) — both maintain airside smoking facilities, and Clark (CRK) has a paid airside smoking room, so a smoking-permitted layover is realistic without exiting security. Davao (DVO), Iloilo (ILO), Laguindingan (CGY), Bacolod-Silay (BCD), Puerto Princesa (PPS), Kalibo (KLO) and Caticlan/Boracay (MPH) keep smoking to a spot outside the terminal, with no airside option. Bohol–Panglao (TAG) sits at the other end of the scale: the airport lists no smoking area anywhere on the property, so plan to smoke before you arrive. General indoor smoking in the terminal halls is prohibited everywhere.
How Philippine Airport Smoking Works
Airport operators provide designated smoking areas — some airside (after security), some at the kerb — and the open public areas of the terminals stay smoke-free. Key points:
- Smoking is restricted to clearly marked designated areas only
- Manila MNL’s main airside option is a paid smoking lounge (PUFF Lounge); Clark CRK’s airside room is inside a paid lounge too
- Cebu CEB’s airside terraces and Terminal 2 smoking room are ordinary airport facilities, not paid lounges
- Lighters are typically confiscated at security, so airside smoking rooms keep communal lighters
- Vaping is regulated separately and allowed only in designated vaping areas (DVAs)
Major Airports
Manila Ninoy Aquino (MNL). The country’s primary gateway, running three unconnected terminals. The most reliable airside smoking option is the PUFF Lounge between Gates 9 and 10 at Terminal 1 — a paid lounge (around ₱1,500 / US$25, including a smoking permit and refreshments). Terminal 3 has a smoking room inside the PAGSS Premium Lounge on Level 4 near Gate 114, plus an IQOS lounge near Gate 112 for heated-tobacco users. Landside, each terminal has a marked designated area, including the spot in the parking area across from Terminal 2. Most other MNL lounges are non-smoking.
Mactan-Cebu (CEB). The Philippines’ second-busiest airport and the gateway to the Visayas. Domestic Terminal 1 has open-air airside terraces — one near gate 10 (standing only) and one near gate 16 with seating — reached after the checkpoint. International Terminal 2 has two separate, well-signed rooms in the pre-departure area, one for smoking and one for vaping; the smoking room keeps lighters available since security takes them at the checkpoint. Open-air areas outside both terminal entrances serve landside.
Clark (CRK). Luzon’s alternative to Manila, in a terminal opened in 2022. Airside, the Plaza Premium Lounge on Level 3 of international departures has an enclosed smoking room; entry to the room is paid on its own, around ₱800 for a roughly 30-minute session including a drink. Designated outdoor areas outside the terminal cover landside, free of charge.
Davao (DVO). Mindanao’s main gateway, and the strictest airport in the country. Davao City’s anti-smoking ordinance — the model for the 2017 national ban — permits smoking only in open, roofless space away from buildings, so smoking is in the open air outside the terminal, clear of the doors and canopies. There is no indoor or airside smoking area, and the same rule covers vapes, heated tobacco and shisha.
Iloilo (ILO). The main gateway to Panay Island and Western Visayas, and the country’s fifth-busiest airport. A designated outdoor smoking area sits outside the single terminal building; there is no airside or indoor option, so smoke before you check in.
Laguindingan (CGY). Cagayan de Oro’s airport and the main air link for Northern Mindanao. A designated outdoor smoking area outside the terminal is the only place to smoke, permitted under Executive Order No. 26 (2017) — the terminal itself, on both floors, is smoke-free throughout.
Bacolod-Silay (BCD). Serves Bacolod City and Negros Occidental province. Outdoor smoking is permitted outside the terminal building under Executive Order No. 26 (2017). The airport lists no airside or lounge smoking facility, the Mabuhay Lounge included.
Puerto Princesa (PPS). Palawan’s main gateway. Outdoor smoking is permitted outside the terminal building, landside, under Executive Order No. 26 (2017); the airport has not published the exact spot, and there is no airside option.
Kalibo (KLO). One of two airports serving Boracay, a two-hour drive from the island. Outdoor smoking is permitted outside the terminal, landside, under Executive Order No. 26 (2017), and the airport lists no airside option.
Caticlan / Boracay (MPH). The closer of Boracay’s two gateways, currently split across two buildings during construction of a permanent terminal. Outdoor smoking is permitted outside the departures building, landside, under Executive Order No. 26 (2017); the spot was described by a traveller in April 2019, before the security checkpoint, with lighters confiscated at screening. The airport lists no airside option.
Bohol–Panglao (TAG). Bohol’s main gateway, on Panglao Island. The airport lists no smoking area anywhere on the property, and a traveller described airport security warning against smoking even in the car park in November 2019.
Smoking Laws and the Vape Rules
Smoke-free legislation in the Philippines restricts smoking in enclosed public places and permits airport terminals to operate designated smoking areas — which is why MNL, CEB and CRK keep airside facilities rather than going fully outdoor-only. Local ordinances can be stricter than the national rule: Davao City allows smoking only in open, roofless space, so DVO has no indoor or airside area at all.
Vaping is governed separately by Republic Act 11900, the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act (2022). Vapes and heated-tobacco products are legal, and you may carry devices and e-liquids in hand luggage. Inside airport terminals, vaping is confined to designated vaping areas (DVAs) — Cebu CEB provides a dedicated airside vaping room separate from its smoking room, and Manila T3 has an IQOS lounge near Gate 112. Where no separate vaping area is marked, use the designated smoking area.
Tips for Smokers at Philippine Airports
- MNL, CEB and CRK all have airside smoking facilities — you can smoke without exiting security
- Manila’s PUFF Lounge (between Gates 9 and 10) is paid (~₱1,500 / US$25) and Clark’s Plaza Premium smoking room is around ₱800 per session; Cebu’s airside terraces and Terminal 2 room are ordinary airport facilities
- Davao is open-air landside only — plan to smoke before you enter the terminal
- Bohol–Panglao (TAG) has no smoking area at all, even in the car park — plan to smoke well before you arrive
- Lighters are confiscated at security — airside smoking rooms usually keep communal lighters
- Vaping has its own designated areas; Cebu CEB has a separate airside vaping room
- Carry vape devices in hand luggage, not checked baggage, per RA 11900
Philippines Airports Compared: Indoor, Outdoor & After Security
| Airport | After security | Indoor room | Outdoor area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bacolod-Silay International Airport (BCD) | – | – | Yes |
| Bohol-Panglao International Airport (TAG) | – | – | – |
| Godofredo P. Ramos Airport (MPH) | – | – | Yes |
| Clark International Airport (CRK) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Francisco Bangoy International Airport (DVO) | – | – | Yes |
| Iloilo International Airport (ILO) | – | – | Yes |
| Kalibo International Airport (KLO) | – | – | Yes |
| Laguindingan Airport (CGY) | – | – | Yes |
| Mactan-Cebu International Airport (CEB) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Puerto Princesa International Airport (PPS) | – | – | Yes |