Yes, you can smoke at Bilbao Airport (BIO) — outside the terminal building, landside, where Spanish law permits smoking in the open air. Aena’s own services listing for Bilbao names no smoking area at all, so this outdoor default is what’s available; the terminal interior is smoke-free throughout.
Bilbao Airport, about 9 km north of the city, is the main gateway to the Basque Country, handling around seven million passengers a year.
Landside, Outside the Terminal
Step outside the terminal doors — on either the departures side or the arrivals side — and Spanish law permits smoking in the open air. Aena’s own airport-services page for Bilbao does not name a designated or marked smoking spot, unlike some other Spanish airports, so there is no specific level, ashtray point, or signed area to look for; the general rule is simply that the terminal interior is smoke-free and the outdoors, landside, is not.
After Security (Airside)
Bilbao Airport has no airside smoking area. Once you pass through the security checkpoint, the walkway to the gates and the boarding concourse are smoke-free throughout, including the shops, cafés, and toilets. If you need to smoke during a connection, you would have to exit back to landside and re-clear security to return to the gates.
Vaping
Aena’s services listing for Bilbao does not name a separate rule for e-cigarettes. Vapers face the same default as smokers: the terminal interior is smoke-free throughout, so vape outside the building, landside.
Summary
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Indoor terminal | No | Smoke-free throughout; Aena lists no smoking area at all |
| After security / airside | No | No airside option; smoke-free throughout |
| Outdoor (landside) | Yes | Outside the terminal doors; no designated spot, and open-air smoking is permitted under Spanish law |
| Vaping | Same as smoking | No separate airport rule; same outdoor, landside default |
Bilbao’s outdoor-only setup matches Seville Airport and Ibiza Airport, rather than the airside terraces at Spain’s bigger hubs.
For Spain’s airport smoking rules and vaping law, see our Spain airport guide.