Yes, Istanbul Airport (IST) has smoking areas after security — open-air terraces by the gates on both the international and the domestic airside — plus landside terraces at the check-in halls and arrivals. The airport lists 13 smoking terraces (10 on the international airside, 3 on the domestic airside) and 6 smoking balconies. Turkey’s 2009 ban on smoking in enclosed spaces means every one of them is outdoors: there are no indoor smoking rooms at IST, and the terminal interior is smoke-free.
Istanbul Airport is one of the world’s largest single-terminal airports and a major transfer hub between Europe, Asia and Africa, so most readers of this page are connecting. The good news is that the terraces are spread along the piers, so a connection never requires leaving the transit zone to smoke.
Jump to: Before security · International gates · Domestic gates · Arrivals and transfer · Layovers
How the smoking terraces work
Every one of them is open-air: the airport’s own list counts 13 smoking terraces and 6 smoking balconies open to passengers, and names the two across from Gates B1 and F8 Fresh Air Terraces. The airport also asks passengers to verify the current operational status of the smoking areas with its operations unit, so if the terrace nearest your gate is closed, walk to the next one rather than lighting up inside.
Before security (landside)
- Departures floor, next to Check-in Area A — the terrace for passengers checking in at the A end of the hall.
- Departures floor, next to Check-in Area S — the terrace at the S end of the check-in hall.
- Arrivals floor, near Exit Gate 8 — the landside terrace for people meeting a flight, and for arriving passengers once they are through customs.
These are the places to smoke before you clear security. Once you are through, use the airside terraces below.
After security: international gates
The international airside terraces, listed here from the A pier round to the F pier:
- Next to Gate A11 — the A pier terrace.
- Next to the A-B Gourmet Trilogy — beside the food court between the A and B piers, the most central option.
- Near Gate B18 — the outer B gates.
- Fresh Air Terrace across from Gate B1 — wide and open to the apron.
- Gate C1, next to the Napzone — at the head of the C pier beside the rest area.
- Next to Gate D16 — the D pier terrace.
- Next to Gate F13 — the F pier terrace.
- Fresh Air Terrace across from Gate F8 — the second Fresh Air Terrace, serving the far F gates.
- Next to the transfer desks — for passengers who have just arrived and are heading to the transfer counters.
The terminal is very long, so pick the terrace in your own pier: the walk from the A gates to the F gates takes far longer than a cigarette.
After security: domestic gates
The domestic airside has three terraces, all past the domestic security checkpoint:
- Food court area entrance
- Inside the food court area
- Near Gate G11
Domestic and international airside are separate zones, so use the terraces on your own side.
Arrivals and transfer
Arriving passengers can smoke before they leave the baggage hall: there is a terrace across from baggage belt 1 on the domestic side and one across from baggage belt 25 on the international side. Connecting passengers who need to see the transfer desks have the terrace next to the transfer desks, and once through transfer security they can use any of the international pier terraces above.
Smoking on a layover at Istanbul Airport
A connection at IST needs no exit from the secure zone to smoke: international-to-international transfers stay airside throughout, and the terraces listed above run along the A, B, C, D and F piers. Head for the one nearest your departure gate rather than the one you passed on arrival, because the piers are long, and allow a few extra minutes on a tight connection.
Vaping
Turkey treats e-cigarettes the same as tobacco, so vape on the terraces and balconies, never inside the terminal. E-cigarettes are not sold in Turkey, so bring your own device and supplies.
Summary
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal interior | No | Smoke-free; no indoor smoking rooms |
| Before security (landside) | Yes | Terraces next to Check-in A and Check-in S, and near Arrivals Exit Gate 8 |
| International airside | Yes | Terraces by Gates A11, B18, C1, D16 and F13, the A-B Gourmet Trilogy, the transfer desks, and Fresh Air Terraces across from B1 and F8 |
| Domestic airside | Yes | Food court entrance, food court area, near Gate G11 |
| Arrivals halls | Yes | Across from baggage belt 1 (domestic) and belt 25 (international) |
For Turkey airport smoking rules, the vape import ban and other general info, see our Turkey smoking guide.