Yes, Hat Yai International Airport (HDY) has an outdoor smoking area outside the terminal. When Airports of Thailand (AOT) closed indoor smoking rooms at all six of its airports — Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai and Chiang Rai — on 3 February 2019, under the Tobacco Products Control Act B.E. 2560 (2017), it stated its policy of designating outdoor points as smoking areas “in suitable locations” at each airport.
Outdoor Smoking Area
Hat Yai is the main air gateway to Thailand’s five southernmost provinces and to nearby Malaysia. AOT’s own closure announcement is the basis for the smoking area here: the airport authority stated it would designate outdoor points as smoking areas outside the terminal, rather than list an exact gate or floor. Ask airport staff or the information counter to point you to the current spot. No post-security smoking area has been confirmed, so treat every option as landside, before the security checkpoint.
E-Cigarettes and Vaping
Cigarettes are fine in the outdoor smoking area. E-cigarettes and vaping devices are not: Thailand’s Consumer Protection Board Order 9/2558 (2015) bans their sale, and the Customs Act B.E. 2560 (2017) treats them as prohibited goods to import or carry, with penalties for anyone caught bringing them through an airport. Leave vaping devices at home.
Summary
| Area | Location | Indoor / Outdoor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outdoor smoking area | Outside the terminal building | Outdoor | AOT’s stated policy; ask staff to confirm the exact point |
| After security (airside) | — | None confirmed | Smoke before security |
| Vaping | — | Not permitted | Illegal to sell, import or carry under Thai law |
Hat Yai closed its indoor smoking rooms in the same February 2019 announcement as the outdoor smoking policy at Chiang Rai Airport (CEI), another of the six AOT airports covered by that closure.
For Thailand airport smoking rules, the nationwide e-cigarette and vape ban, and every other Thailand airport, see our Thailand smoking guide.