Yes — smoking at Davao Francisco Bangoy International Airport (DVO) is outdoors only, in the open air away from the terminal building; the terminal itself is entirely smoke-free, with no indoor or airside smoking area. Plan to smoke outside, well clear of the entrances, before you check in.
DVO is Mindanao’s main gateway and one of the busiest airports in the Philippines, handling around four million passengers a year through a single passenger terminal. It sits inside Davao City, which enforces the Philippines’ strictest anti-smoking ordinance — first passed in 2002 and strengthened in 2012, and later the model for the country’s 2017 national smoking ban. The practical result at the airport is simple: there is no smoking lounge and no designated indoor or airside area, and the only place to smoke is genuinely open air outside the building.
Where to Smoke at Davao Airport
Inside the Terminal (Departures)
The DVO passenger terminal is entirely smoke-free. There is no smoking lounge, no paid smoking room, and no marked airside area anywhere past the check-in hall or beyond security — a marked contrast with Manila and Cebu, both of which keep airside smoking rooms. Under Davao City’s ordinance it is not permitted to smoke anywhere with a roof, so the covered curbside directly outside the doors is off limits too. Lighters are typically taken at the security checkpoint, and there is nowhere to use them airside in any case. If you are departing, smoke before you enter the building, allowing time to clear security afterward.
Outside the Terminal (Landside)
Smoking at DVO is possible only in the open air outside the terminal, landside, and away from the building. Davao City’s ordinance permits smoking only in open, roofless spaces set well back from entrances and exits, so step out to an uncovered spot clear of the doors, walkways and canopies rather than lingering by the entrance. There is no comfortable, furnished smoking area — no umbrellas, tables or seating — by design, because the ordinance keeps designated spots deliberately bare. If you arrive early or face a wait before a domestic connection, this open-air landside option is your only choice, so budget the extra minutes to walk out and back through screening.
On Arrival
If you are flying into Davao, wait until you have collected your bags and walked out of the terminal, then smoke in the open air outside the building, well clear of the doors. Airlines routinely announce Davao City’s no-smoking policy as the aircraft lands, and the rule applies from the moment you step off the plane through the whole arrivals building until you are outside in genuinely open air.
Vaping
Vaping is treated exactly like smoking at DVO and is allowed only in the same open-air spots outside the terminal — never inside the building. Davao City’s ordinance covers e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and shisha alongside cigarettes, and it is stricter than the national vape law, which elsewhere in the Philippines allows designated indoor vaping areas. There is no such indoor vaping area here, so keep your device to open, uncovered ground away from the entrances.
Summary
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Indoor terminal | No | Entirely smoke-free; no lounge or airside room |
| After security / airside | No | Nowhere to smoke past the checkpoint |
| Outdoor (landside) | Yes | Open air only, away from doors and any roof |
If you are connecting through the capital, see our guide to smoking at Manila Ninoy Aquino Airport (MNL).
For the Philippines’ airport smoking rules and vaping law, see our Philippines airport guide.