Yes, you can smoke at London City Airport (LCY) at the designated area outside, next to the terminal entrance, on the landside forecourt before security. The airport’s own guidance is that “the only designated smoking area is outside next to the terminal entrance,” and that after you go through security into the Departures lounge there are no smoking areas — so plan your cigarette on the forecourt before you head inside.
The Designated Smoking Area
LCY has one smoking location, and it is easy to find: step out of the main terminal entrance, move clear of the doorway, and use the marked area on the forecourt. The same spot serves passengers arriving off the DLR on their way in and passengers heading back out to the trains.
The airport’s published policy is short and covers both habits: smoking and vaping are not allowed inside the terminal building or after you pass through security, and passengers are asked to use the designated smoking area outside the terminal building instead.
The Royal Docks setting makes the forecourt breezy — LCY sits on a pier between the Royal Albert and King George V docks, with water on both sides of the runway, so a winter smoke break here is a cold one. Terminal opening hours are 04:45–22:00 Monday to Friday, 04:45–13:00 on Saturdays and 10:45–22:00 on Sundays, and the airport does not stay open overnight.
After Security
Everything airside at LCY is smoke-free, including the departure lounge, the gates and the walkways out to stand. The airport says so directly: after you go through security into the Departures lounge, there are no smoking areas.
LCY’s saving grace is its size. It is Britain’s most compact major terminal, with a single security hall and a short walk to the gates, so exiting to the forecourt for a cigarette and re-clearing security is a genuinely quicker round trip than at Heathrow or Gatwick. Rejoining the queue still costs you time at peak business hours, so treat the pre-security smoke as the plan and the airside dash as the fallback.
Most LCY traffic is point-to-point business flying rather than connecting itineraries. If you are heading onward through a hub, the picture differs by route: Schiphol’s designated smoking area is landside on Jan Dellaertplein, so a KLM connection offers no mid-transfer cigarette, and the airside smoking lounges at Zurich cover you between flights if you are flying SWISS. Our guide to smoking during layovers covers the timing maths.
Terminal Layout
London City operates a single terminal in the Royal Docks, about six miles east of the City of London, handling roughly 3.5 million passengers a year on a single runway. British Airways, through its BA CityFlyer arm, is by far the largest operator, joined by KLM, SWISS, Lufthansa (operated by Air Dolomiti), ITA Airways, Luxair, Loganair and Aurigny.
The London City Airport DLR station sits directly outside the terminal doors, putting Bank in the City about 22 minutes away. Transport for London bans smoking and vaping across its entire network, stations and platforms included, so the forecourt area is the last legal spot on your way in and the first on your way out.
Vaping and E-Cigarettes
Vape at the same designated area outside, next to the terminal entrance. LCY’s airport policies group smoking and vaping under one heading and one rule: neither is allowed inside the terminal building or after you pass through security. Heated-tobacco devices such as IQOS and glo are treated the same way. Since June 2025 disposable vapes can no longer be sold anywhere in the UK, so bring a refillable device from home rather than expecting to buy one in the terminal shops.
Summary
| Area | Smoking Allowed | Location Details |
|---|---|---|
| Outside, next to the terminal entrance | Yes | The only designated smoking area; landside forecourt |
| Inside the terminal | No | Smoke-free throughout, including toilets |
| After security / departure lounge | No | No smoking areas beyond the checkpoint |
| Gates and walkways to aircraft | No | Smoke-free out to the stand |
| DLR station and trains | No | Smoking and vaping banned across the TfL network |
| Vaping | Outdoor area only | Same rule as cigarettes, IQOS and glo included |
For United Kingdom airport smoking rules, vaping rules, and other general info, see our United Kingdom smoking guide.