Yes, you can smoke at East Midlands Airport (EMA) after security, at the outdoor airside smoking area on the upper floor of the main departure lounge, reached by walking through the Castle Rock bar and restaurant. Designated areas outside the terminal building cover you landside as well, so EMA is one of the small group of UK airports where a cigarette after the checkpoint is still on the table.
The Designated Smoking Areas
The airport’s own FAQ sets out both locations plainly:
- Airside — “Once you’ve passed through Security, there is a smoking/vaping area on the upper floor of the main Departure Lounge, through the restaurant Castle Rock.” The airport’s smoking page describes it as the outdoor airside smoking area located near Castle Rock, so expect open air rather than a sealed room.
- Landside — “You can smoke in designated areas outside the terminal building,” on the forecourt side, before you check in or after you collect bags.
Castle Rock is easy to find: it is the pub-style bar and restaurant on the Upper Departure Lounge, themed on Nottingham’s Castle Rock Brewery. Head up to that level, walk through, and the smoking area is on the far side. Apart from these designated areas, the airport states that smoking and vaping are forbidden indoors anywhere on its site.
After Security
This is where East Midlands earns its reputation among smokers. Most UK airports send you back out of the terminal for a cigarette; at EMA the airside area means you clear security once, settle in the departure lounge, and take a smoke break whenever you like without re-screening.
Practical points for the airside break:
- It is on the upper floor of the departure lounge, so allow a couple of minutes to get up there from the main shopping level.
- The route runs through Castle Rock, which keeps its own opening hours — during the autumn and winter travel season the airport notes that those times may vary, so check before relying on a late-night or very early-morning smoke.
- The area is outdoors. Bring a layer in winter; the terminal sits on exposed high ground in the Leicestershire countryside.
If you are connecting onward rather than flying point-to-point, our guide to smoking during layovers covers how to plan the break around boarding times.
Terminal Layout
East Midlands operates a single terminal at Castle Donington in Leicestershire, roughly 12 miles from Derby, 14 from Nottingham and 20 from Leicester, and handled about 4 million passengers in 2025. Check-in and security occupy the lower level; the departure lounge runs above, with the shops, the food and drink units and Castle Rock on the upper floor alongside the smoking area.
Jet2 and TUI are the based carriers, joined by Ryanair, and the route map is dominated by Mediterranean, Canary Islands and European city-break flying. EMA is also the UK’s leading dedicated air-cargo airport — DHL, UPS and FedEx all run their main UK hubs here, and the airfield moved more than 400,000 tonnes of freight in 2025. The freight operation is entirely separate from the passenger terminal and does not affect where you can smoke.
Nearby alternatives differ: Manchester Airport also has an area beyond the checkpoint, and at Birmingham Airport all smoking is landside. Worth knowing if you are choosing between an East Midlands departure and a drive to another airport.
Vaping and E-Cigarettes
Vape in the designated areas. The airport’s FAQ names the airside facility a “smoking/vaping area” on the upper floor of the departure lounge, through Castle Rock, and the landside spots outside the terminal are used the same way. The airport’s older, separate smoking page still states that it is forbidden to use e-cigarettes within the airport, so treat the marked areas as the only place to use a device and keep it packed away everywhere else — the terminal interior, the toilets and the boarding areas are all smoke-free and vape-free.
Since June 2025 disposable vapes can no longer be sold anywhere in the UK, so travel with a refillable device from home rather than expecting to buy one in the terminal, and carry it in your hand luggage as airline rules require.
Summary
| Area | Smoking Allowed | Location Details |
|---|---|---|
| Airside smoking area | Yes | Upper floor of the main departure lounge, through Castle Rock; outdoors |
| Outside the terminal | Yes | Designated landside areas on the terminal frontage |
| Inside the terminal | No | Smoke-free throughout, including toilets and boarding areas |
| Vaping | Designated areas only | Airside area listed by the airport as a smoking/vaping area |
| Cargo apron and airfield | No | Operational area, closed to passengers |
For United Kingdom airport smoking rules, vaping rules, and other general info, see our United Kingdom smoking guide.