Yes, you can smoke at Zurich Airport (ZRH) after security, in the smoking lounges the airport’s map marks in each of its gate areas: at Gates A by gates A50, A66 and A85; at Gates B 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); at Dock E by gate E23 and four on the lower E-gate level; and three in the Airside Center, which also has a Vaping Lounge. Before security, the map marks two smoking 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, and lists no outdoor smoking area. Swiss federal law allows such smoking rooms (Federal Act on Protection against Passive Smoking, Article 2).
Airside Center
Three smoking lounges, one on Level 2 and two on Level 1, one of those by the Sportsbar, and a separate Vaping Lounge. The Airside Center sits between the check-in halls and the gate areas, so these are the lounges to use when you do not yet know your gate.
Gates A and B
Gates A: smoking lounges by gates A50, A66 and A85 on Level 1. The airport’s map places all three after security; its services list places the A66 and A85 lounges before security in Arrival 2, so ask staff which side of security they are on. The map also marks a lounge near gate A72 without placing it on either side of security. Gates B: a lounge by gate B35 on Level 1 and one at the bus gates B01 to B10 on Level 0, which the services list calls the Gate B06 lounge.
Gates D
The airport’s services list has a smoking lounge by the Transit Hotel in the non-Schengen D-gate area and one at gate D35; its map places the Transit Hotel lounge on Level 1 by the B gates, marks a smoking area by gate D39 on Level 0 and no lounge at D35. Ask staff which D-gate lounge is open and how to reach it.
Dock E
Dock E, the non-Schengen dock reached from the Airside Center by the Skymetro train, has a smoking lounge by gate E23 on the departures level and four on the lower E-gate level. SWISS’s lounge terraces in Dock E are not listed as smoking areas: the SWISS house rules allow smoking only in designated smoking areas and name none in its lounges, so ask the lounge staff.
Arrivals and before security
The airport’s map marks one smoking lounge in the Arrival 2 corridor after security, and three before security: two in the Arrival 1 hall and one in the Arrival 2 hall. The airport lists no outdoor smoking area, and smoking is banned on Observation Decks B and E, so ask staff before smoking outside the terminal.
Vaping
The airport lists a Vaping Lounge in the Airside Center alongside its smoking lounges. It publishes no rule on vaping inside its smoking lounges, so ask staff before vaping in one; the Swiss rule on e-cigarettes and heated tobacco is on our Switzerland guide below.
Summary
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Airside Center (after security) | Yes | Three smoking lounges, Level 2 and Level 1 (one by the Sportsbar); Vaping Lounge |
| Gates A (after security) | Yes | Lounges by gates A50, A66 and A85, Level 1; the services list places A66 and A85 before security, ask staff; one more marked near gate A72 |
| Gates B (after security) | Yes | Lounge by gate B35, Level 1; bus-gate lounge for gates B01 to B10, Level 0 |
| Gates D (after security) | Yes | Lounge by the Transit Hotel (D-gate area on the services list, Level 1 by the B gates on the map); gate D39 on the map, gate D35 on the services list; ask staff |
| Dock E (after security) | Yes | Lounge by gate E23, departures level; four on the lower E-gate level |
| Arrival 2 corridor (after security) | Yes | One lounge |
| Arrival 1 and Arrival 2 halls (before security) | Yes | Two lounges in Arrival 1, one in Arrival 2 |
| Outdoors and the observation decks | Ask staff | No outdoor area listed; smoking banned on Observation Decks B and E |
| Hours | — | None published for any lounge; ask staff if one is closed |
For Switzerland’s airport smoking law, the fines, the vaping rule and the Geneva and Basel information, see our Switzerland airport guide.