Yes, you can smoke at Zurich Airport (ZRH), one of Europe’s most smoker-friendly airports. It runs enclosed indoor smoking lounges both after security and in the landside public area, so you can light up whether you are airside between flights or still in the check-in halls.
Zurich is one of several European hubs with indoor smoking after security — see also Frankfurt Airport’s indoor smoking lounges after security and Vienna Airport’s indoor smoking rooms after security.
The Swiss flag carrier’s main hub, Zurich was the first airport in Europe to open dedicated smoking lounges, and it has kept a generous network of them ever since: 22 lounges in total — 18 airside (after security) and 4 landside in the public area. All of them are enclosed, ventilated indoor rooms.
The Airside Center Lounge
The Airside Center is the central shopping and transit hub that every departure dock feeds into, and it has its own smoking lounge on the passenger level. Because the Airside Center sits between the check-in halls and the piers, this is the easiest lounge to reach when you are moving between concourses or unsure which gate you will board from. The same level hosts the Davidoff cigar store with its walk-in humidor, so cigar smokers are well served here too.
Lounges at Docks A, B and D
Zurich’s Schengen and mixed gates spread across two docks, each with airside lounges:
- Gate A50 (Dock A, Schengen). The lounge sits one level above Gate A50, next to the Hudson store.
- Gate B08 (Dock B). A lounge stands close to Gate B08, near the Bellevue bar.
- Gate B35 (Dock B, Schengen level). The lounge is beside Gate B35, near the Pret A Manger.
- Gate D35 (Dock B, non-Schengen level). Dock B is a dual-level pier — Schengen gates below, non-Schengen “D” gates above — and the upper level has its own lounge near Gate D35, by the Startbar and Pret A Manger.
Lounges at the E Gates (Non-Schengen Dock)
Dock E is Zurich’s remote Midfield dock, used for non-Schengen flights and reached from the Airside Center by the Skymetro underground train. It is the pier long-haul travellers most often connect through, and it is well covered for smokers. The main departure lounge sits between Gates E23 and E25. Two further lounges serve arriving passengers only, near Gates E34/E35 and Gates E46/E47, so you can smoke on the walk to passport control after a long flight.
Smoking During a Layover
Zurich is one of the best airports in Europe for a smoking layover. With 18 lounges after security placed across the Airside Center and every dock — Schengen A and B gates, non-Schengen D gates, and the Midfield E gates — you are rarely more than a few minutes from one, whichever pier your connection uses. Transit passengers never have to clear immigration or re-screen to smoke. If you connect through the E gates, remember the Skymetro ride between the Airside Center and the dock, and use the E23/E25 lounge once you are there.
Vaping and Landside
Switzerland’s Federal Tobacco Products Act, in force since 1 October 2024, treats vaping the same as smoking. E-cigarettes may be used only in the designated smoking lounges, not anywhere else in the terminal.
On the landside, four lounges serve the public check-in and arrivals areas, and you can also smoke in the open air outside the terminals, away from the entrances. The observation deck is non-smoking — plan your break around the indoor lounges instead. The public-terminal lounges are standard facilities with no published entry fee.
Summary
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Indoor lounges airside | Yes | 18 lounges — Airside Center and Gates A50, B08, B35, D35, E23/E25 |
| Indoor lounges landside | Yes | 4 lounges in the public check-in and arrivals areas |
| Outdoor (landside) | Yes | Open air outside the terminals, away from the entrances |
| Observation deck | No | Explicitly non-smoking |
For Switzerland’s airport smoking rules and vaping law, see our Switzerland airport guide.