--- title: "Switzerland Airport Smoking Areas" canonical: "https://www.airportsmokingzones.com/switzerland/" language: "en-us" description: "Swiss airports: Zurich (ZRH) has smoking lounges after security in each gate area and the Airside Center; Geneva (GVA) one room; Basel (BSL) outdoor areas." lastmod: "2026-10-24T00:00:00Z" --- # Switzerland Airport Smoking Areas Yes, you can smoke at Swiss airports after security. [Zurich Airport (ZRH)](https://www.airportsmokingzones.com/switzerland/zrh-smoking-at-zurich-airport/) has smoking lounges in each of its gate areas and in the Airside Center, with more in the arrivals halls before security, [Geneva (GVA)](https://www.airportsmokingzones.com/switzerland/gva-smoking-at-geneva-airport/) has one smoking room in the transit area, and EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse (BSL) has outdoor smoking areas after security at gates 82/84 and at Gates 25/27. Swiss law allows separate, marked and ventilated smoking rooms where nobody works in public buildings, which is why Zurich and Geneva keep theirs. ## Switzerland Airports Compared: Before and After Security Before security, you can always smoke outside: at a designated smoking area where there is one, or outside the airport property, beyond the terminal kerb and car parks. After security, Yes means there is a smoking area past security and a dash means none is listed. Each airport’s page has the details. | Airport | Before security | After security | | --- | --- | --- | | [Geneva (GVA)](https://www.airportsmokingzones.com/switzerland/gva-smoking-at-geneva-airport/) | Yes | Yes | | [Zurich (ZRH)](https://www.airportsmokingzones.com/switzerland/zrh-smoking-at-zurich-airport/) | Yes | Yes | For international travel through Switzerland, Zurich is the airport that matters most, with Geneva serving the west and EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse the north-west. ## How Swiss Airport Smoking Works The Federal Act on Protection against Passive Smoking (SR 818.31, in force since 1 May 2010\) bans smoking in enclosed spaces open to the public and lists public-transport buildings among them (Article 1). Since 1 October 2024 the same ban covers heated-tobacco products and e-cigarettes (Article 2). The operator of a building may allow smoking in separate, specially marked and ventilated rooms where nobody works (Article 2), with a self-closing door and no through passage (Ordinance SR 818.311, Article 4). A person who smokes where it is banned faces a fine of up to CHF 1,000 (Article 5). The Canton of Zurich adds its own ban on tobacco in public buildings where it is not expressly allowed (Health Act, Section 48(4)); its regulation on addictive substances lets the house rules allow smoking outdoors and in separate, ventilated rooms (LS 818.25, Section 2\) and fines a person up to CHF 1,000 (Section 5(1)). In practice: - **Zurich (ZRH):** smoking lounges after security in each gate area and in the Airside Center, a Vaping Lounge in the Airside Center, and smoking lounges in the arrivals halls before security; no hours published, no outdoor area listed, smoking banned on the observation decks - **Geneva (GVA):** one smoking room after security in the transit area, mezzanine level, 04:00 until the last flight; smoking and vaping banned elsewhere in the terminal - **Basel-Mulhouse (BSL):** smoking areas marked at the terminal entrances; after security an outdoor smoking zone at gates 82/84, an outdoor smoking area at Gates 25/27 after passport control (not for Schengen-area passengers) and the Skyview Lounge smoking terrace, subject to access conditions; smoking and vaping banned in all other areas - **E-cigarettes and heated tobacco** follow the smoking ban indoors under the federal act; Zurich publishes no rule on vaping inside its smoking lounges, so ask staff ## The Hubs **[Zurich Airport (ZRH)](https://www.airportsmokingzones.com/switzerland/zrh-smoking-at-zurich-airport/).** The Swiss flag hub, 13 km north of the city. After security, the airport’s map marks smoking lounges by gates A50, A66 and A85 (its services list places the A66 and A85 lounges before security, so ask staff which side they are on), by gate B35 and at the bus gates B01 to B10 on Level 0, in the D-gate area by the Transit Hotel and by gate D39 or D35 (the map and the services list differ, so ask staff which is open), by gate E23 on the departures level of Dock E and four on the lower E-gate level, three in the Airside Center and one in the Arrival 2 corridor; the Airside Center also has a Vaping Lounge. Before security, two lounges in the Arrival 1 hall and one in Arrival 2\. The airport publishes no hours for any of them, so ask staff if one is closed, lists no outdoor smoking area and bans smoking on Observation Decks B and E. **[Geneva (GVA)](https://www.airportsmokingzones.com/switzerland/gva-smoking-at-geneva-airport/) and Basel-Mulhouse (BSL).** Geneva has one smoking room after security, in the transit area on the mezzanine level, open daily from 04:00 until the last flight, with ventilation and smoke extraction; the airport bans smoking and vaping elsewhere in the terminal. EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse, the binational airport on French soil, marks smoking areas at the entrances to the terminal and, after security, has an outdoor smoking zone at gates 82/84 open to all passengers, an outdoor smoking area at Gates 25/27 after passport control, not for passengers in the Schengen part of the airport, and the smoking terrace in the Skyview Lounge, subject to its access conditions; it bans smoking and vaping in all other areas and lists no further smoking facility near the gates. ## Tips for Smokers at Swiss Airports - At Zurich, every gate area has a smoking lounge after security, so a connection needs no exit; in the D-gate area ask staff whether the lounge by gate D39 or gate D35 is the one open - Zurich publishes no hours for its smoking lounges; ask staff if one is closed - Smoking is banned on Zurich’s Observation Decks B and E, and the airport lists no outdoor smoking area - Vaping: use Zurich’s Vaping Lounge in the Airside Center, or ask staff before vaping in a smoking lounge; at Geneva, vaping is allowed only in the smoking room, at Basel only in its smoking areas ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Can you smoke at Swiss airports? Yes — Zurich Airport (ZRH) has smoking lounges after security in each of its gate areas and in the Airside Center, with more in the arrivals halls before security, Geneva (GVA) has one smoking room after security in the transit area, and EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse (BSL) has outdoor smoking areas after security at gates 82/84 and at Gates 25/27. Swiss law allows separate, marked and ventilated smoking rooms where nobody works in public buildings, so a layover at these airports needs no exit to smoke. ### Where can I smoke at Zurich Airport (ZRH)? After security, in the smoking lounges the airport’s map marks by gates A50, A66 and A85 (its services list places the A66 and A85 lounges before security, so ask staff), by gate B35 and at the bus gates B01 to B10, in the D-gate area by the Transit Hotel and by gate D39 or D35 (ask staff which is open), by gate E23 and four on the lower E-gate level, three in the Airside Center and one in the Arrival 2 corridor; before security, two in the Arrival 1 hall and one in Arrival 2\. The airport publishes no hours for them, so ask staff if one is closed, and lists no outdoor area; smoking is banned on Observation Decks B and E. ### Are e-cigarettes and vapes allowed at Swiss airports? Only where smoking is allowed: since 1 October 2024 the Federal Act on Protection against Passive Smoking bans e-cigarettes and heated tobacco in the same enclosed public spaces as smoking, so the smoking rooms are the places. Zurich lists a Vaping Lounge in the Airside Center and publishes no rule on vaping inside its smoking lounges, so ask staff; Geneva bans smoking and vaping elsewhere in the terminal, and Basel bans both outside its smoking areas. ### Is Zurich Airport's smoking lounge free? The airport publishes no entry fee and no access conditions for its smoking lounges, so ask staff. SWISS’s house rules allow smoking in its lounges only in designated smoking areas and name none, so ask the lounge staff. ### What about Geneva and Basel airports? Geneva (GVA) has one smoking room after security, in the transit area on the mezzanine level, open daily from 04:00 until the last flight, with ventilation and smoke extraction; smoking and vaping are banned elsewhere in the terminal. EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse (BSL) marks smoking areas at the terminal entrances and, after security, has an outdoor smoking zone at gates 82/84 open to all passengers, an outdoor smoking area at Gates 25/27 after passport control (not for passengers in the Schengen part of the airport) and the smoking terrace in the Skyview Lounge, subject to its access conditions; smoking and vaping are banned in all other areas. Basel has no page on this site.