Yes, Colombo Bandaranaike (CMB) has an airside smoking room reached through the Flemingo Duty Free shop on the international departures level, open to departing and transit passengers once they clear immigration; a second designated spot sits on the first floor near the Serendib Lounge. Arriving passengers can step out to open-air areas by the terminal entrance. Sri Lanka’s tobacco law bans smoking in enclosed public places and carves out designated airport areas; e-cigarettes and vapes are prohibited nationwide, so the rooms are for cigarettes only.
Airside (After Immigration)
Through Flemingo Duty Free:
The main smoking room at CMB is reached through the Flemingo Duty Free shop on the airside departures level. After you clear immigration and enter the duty-free area, walk into the Flemingo shop and follow it to the enclosed smoking room at the back. This is the primary facility for departing and transit passengers, and travellers have reported it open continuously — the most recent confirmation dates to November 2025, with a consistent run of reports back through 2023.
Near the Serendib Lounge:
A second designated spot is on the first floor near the Serendib Lounge (SriLankan Airlines’ lounge), which is next to Flemingo Duty Free. Take the escalator by duty free, turn left, and walk about 20 metres. This is a traveller-reported location — signage near the lounge points the way if it has shifted during renovation work.
Lounges
CMB’s airside lounges — the Serendib Lounge (beside Flemingo Duty Free), the Araliya business-class lounges near the departure gates, and the Palm Strip Lounge in the transit area — are all non-smoking. The designated smoking room through Flemingo is a separate enclosed facility, so lounge users step out to smoke and return. Palm Strip and Araliya take pay-at-the-door and priority-pass access; none of them permit smoking inside.
Outside the Terminal (Landside)
Before security, and for arriving passengers who have already exited immigration, the practical option is the open-air area by the terminal entrance. This is outdoors and landside, so passengers heading to departures should smoke here before check-in or wait for the airside room past immigration. Re-entry after exiting arrivals means clearing security again.
Transit and Layovers
CMB operates from a single terminal, so a layover keeps you inside one airside zone and the Flemingo smoking room is reachable without changing buildings. If your connection routes you through the transit area, the Palm Strip Lounge (open 24 hours) is nearby, and the smoking room stays on the same departures level. A larger, JICA-funded Terminal 2 is under construction, with the new terminal expected to open around 2027–2028, so facilities are unchanged for now.
Colombo Airport Smoking Policy
Sri Lanka’s National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) Act bans smoking in enclosed public places and specifically exempts designated smoking areas in airports, which is why CMB is allowed its airside room. Smoking outside the marked areas is not permitted.
E-cigarettes, vapes, and heated tobacco products are illegal across Sri Lanka — their import, sale, and possession have been prohibited since 2016 — so do not bring or use any vaping device at the airport.
Summary
| Area | Location | Smoking |
|---|---|---|
| Airside smoking room | Through Flemingo Duty Free, departures level (after immigration) | Yes — indoor, cigarettes only |
| Near Serendib Lounge | First floor, next to Flemingo Duty Free | Yes — designated spot (traveller-reported) |
| Serendib / Araliya / Palm Strip lounges | Airside departures | No — all non-smoking |
| Terminal entrance | Landside, outside the building | Yes — open-air area |
| Vaping / e-cigarettes | Anywhere | No — illegal nationwide |
For Sri Lanka airport smoking rules, the vape ban, and other general info, see our Sri Lanka smoking guide.