Yes, you can smoke at Bournemouth Airport (BOH) after security, at the dedicated smoking area by the entrance to the departure gates. A second outdoor area sits outside the terminal on the landside, before check-in. That airside area makes Bournemouth one of a small group of UK airports where a cigarette does not cost you a re-screen.
The Smoking Areas
Bournemouth marks two smoking areas on its official terminal map, one on each side of the security line:
- After security — at the departure-gates end of the lounge, past the World Duty Free store, next to the main seating area and the bar.
- Landside — outside the terminal building on the check-in side of the concourse, for anyone still to clear security or just off an inbound flight.
Both are outdoor areas; the terminal building itself is smoke-free throughout, including the toilets, the check-in hall and the departure-lounge seating.
After Security
Bournemouth’s airside area is described in the airport’s own 360 virtual tour, which walks departing passengers through the terminal step by step. After the security search, the route runs straight through the World Duty Free store: “Once you have passed through our World Duty Free store, you will reach the Departure gates. Here, there is a large seating area, a dedicated smoking area as well as retail outlets and a restaurant and bar.”
In practice that means you clear the checkpoint, collect your things, turn right towards the gates, walk through duty free and come out at the far end of the lounge — the smoking area is on that side, signed, and a short walk from the security exit. Because it is airside, you can use it right up to the moment your gate is called without queuing through security again.
Bournemouth’s traffic is almost entirely point-to-point holiday and city-break flying, so genuine connections here are rare. Ryanair’s Edinburgh service is the main city link, and at the Scottish end you are back to a landside-only airport — see where you can smoke at Edinburgh Airport before you head into the terminal.
Terminal Layout
Bournemouth runs a single terminal at Hurn, near Christchurch in Dorset, about five miles north-east of Bournemouth itself. It handled 1,395,783 passengers in the year to 31 March 2026, a 26% rise on the previous year and the airport’s best ever, and it marked 85 years since opening as RAF Hurn in August 1941.
Ryanair is the largest operator with 20 routes in the summer 2026 schedule, including a new Trapani service and extra frequencies to Alicante, Malaga and Edinburgh. Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, which started flying from Bournemouth in February 2025, now base two aircraft here, and TUI runs 16 routes over the summer.
Landside, the concourse holds the information desk, check-in, a coffee shop and washrooms. Airside, past World Duty Free, you reach the departure-gates area with its large seating area, WHSmith, the smoking area and the Bourne & Acre Bar and Kitchen — a 300-cover restaurant and bar that opened in March 2026 in place of the old venue adjoining the lounge. A £17-million investment programme has also delivered a new immigration and arrivals hall and more than 800 extra car parking spaces.
Vaping and E-Cigarettes
Vape in the same designated areas as cigarettes — the airside one by the departure gates, or the landside one outside the terminal. Vaping is not permitted inside the terminal building, and heat-not-burn devices such as IQOS and glo are treated the same as e-cigarettes.
Bournemouth’s own pre-flight advice, following the UK Civil Aviation Authority, is that vapes and e-cigarettes must be packed in hand luggage rather than in a checked bag. Since June 2025 disposable vapes can no longer be sold anywhere in the UK, so travel with a refillable device from home.
Summary
| Area | Smoking Allowed | Location Details |
|---|---|---|
| Departure gates (after security) | Yes | Dedicated outdoor area past World Duty Free, by the seating area |
| Outside the terminal (landside) | Yes | Outdoor area on the check-in side of the building |
| Inside the terminal | No | Smoke-free throughout, including toilets and the lounge seating |
| Boarding gates and apron | No | Use the marked smoking area before you go forward to board |
| Vaping | Designated areas only | Same rule as cigarettes; devices travel in hand luggage |
For United Kingdom airport smoking rules, vaping rules, and other general info, see our United Kingdom smoking guide.