Smoking at Tunis-Carthage Airport – TUN

Yes, you can smoke at Tunis-Carthage Airport. Travellers report enclosed, glass-partitioned indoor smoking rooms airside in Terminal 1 near Gate 53 and Gate 58, plus designated outdoor smoking areas landside outside the main terminal near the entrances.

Tunis-Carthage International Airport (TUN) is Tunisia’s primary gateway, operated by OACA and running almost entirely through its single main passenger building, Terminal 1. Tunisia enforces its public-place smoking rules loosely, and smokers generally find somewhere to light up both before and after security, which makes TUN one of the more relaxed North-African airports for a transit cigarette.

Smoking Airside (After Security)

The indoor option most travellers describe is a pair of enclosed smoking rooms in the Terminal 1 departures concourse, one near Gate 53 and another near Gate 58. Each is a glass-partitioned space with white chairs and small tables, marked with bilingual “Espace pour Fumeurs / Smoking Area” signage, and they are free to use for any passenger who has cleared security — no lounge membership needed. The rooms are small, with room for only a handful of people at a time, so at busy departure banks you may wait for a spot.

These rooms are traveller-reported (a widely echoed April 2022 account described them as “really good little smoking areas” right by the gates) rather than confirmed on an official OACA page, so treat the exact gate numbers as a guide and watch for the signage as you walk the concourse. Once you are airside you cannot step back out to the landside outdoor areas without re-clearing security, so the gate rooms are your practical indoor choice after passport control.

If you were hoping to smoke inside a lounge, note that the AVS VIP Services departures lounge is temporarily closed, so it is not a reliable indoor smoking spot at present. The Gate 53 and Gate 58 rooms are the free alternative.

Smoking Landside (Before Security)

Before security, smoking is for the designated outdoor areas outside the main terminal, clearly marked near the entrances and exits. They are easy to reach on arrival, before check-in, or after you land and collect your bags, and they cover both departing and arriving passengers. Smoking outside these marked areas inside the building is not permitted and can draw a fine, so use the outdoor spots rather than lighting up at the kerb or in the hall.

Vaping

Vaping sits in a legal grey area in Tunisia — e-cigarettes are sold with no clear regulation, and a 2025 government licence freeze on tobacco and nicotine products is currently in effect. Treat a vape like a cigarette: use it in the designated smoking areas, carry what you need, and keep it discreet.

Summary table

For Tunisia’s airport smoking rules and vaping law, see our Tunisia airport smoking guide.