Yes, you can smoke at Norwich Airport (NWI) in the smoking shelter in front of the terminal building, on the landside forecourt before check-in and security. Norwich Airport Limited’s published policy is that all its public spaces are smoke-free and that “the only areas you will be permitted to smoke is in the smoking shelter in front of the terminal” — the shelter is the single spot on the airport site where you can light up.
The Designated Smoking Area
The smoking shelter sits in front of the terminal, on the forecourt between the entrance and the short-stay parking. It is a built shelter rather than a marked patch of pavement, which matters at an airport on the exposed north edge of Norwich: it gives real cover when the Norfolk wind and rain arrive.
Because Norwich is a compact single-terminal airport, the walk from the shelter to the check-in desks takes well under a minute, so there is no need to cut a smoke break short. The same shelter serves arriving passengers walking out to the car parks, the taxi rank and the bus stop.
The policy has been in force since 1 July 2007, the day England’s smoke-free law took effect, and it applies to the whole terminal building.
After Security
The shelter in front of the terminal is your last chance to smoke before you fly. The departure lounge, the gates and the walk out to the aircraft are all smoke-free, and Norwich publishes no airside smoking facility of any kind.
Norwich’s compact layout works in your favour here: check-in, security and the departure lounge sit within a couple of minutes of each other, so you can smoke at the shelter with your boarding pass already in hand and still be through the checkpoint quickly. Getting back to the shelter from the departure lounge would mean clearing security a second time, so treat the pre-security cigarette as the one that counts.
If you are connecting onward from a Norwich flight, our guide to smoking during layovers covers how to judge whether a break is worth the walk.
Terminal Layout and Airlines
Norwich Airport operates a single terminal about 2.5 miles north of Norwich city centre, handling 453,000 passengers in the year ended 31 March 2026 — a 5% rise on the year before. Everything is on one compact site: check-in, a single security checkpoint, the departure lounge with its Executive Lounge, and the gates.
The airline roster is small and stable:
- KLM — up to four daily flights to its hub at Amsterdam Schiphol, the airport’s main connection to the wider world.
- Ryanair — Alicante and Malta year-round, plus Faro in summer.
- TUI — eight summer sunshine routes and year-round flights to Tenerife.
- Loganair — year-round Aberdeen, plus a seasonal Jersey service.
Norwich also runs a substantial helicopter operation supporting the southern North Sea offshore energy sector, which flies from its own facilities on the airfield rather than the passenger terminal.
If you are travelling via Amsterdam on the KLM feeder, note that Schiphol’s designated smoking area on Jan Dellaertplein is landside, before security — the Norwich shelter is the last easy smoke break until you have fully arrived.
Vaping and E-Cigarettes
Vape at the same shelter in front of the terminal. Norwich’s policy is explicit that “the smoking of electronic cigarettes is also prohibited within the terminal building,” so e-cigarettes, vapes and heated-tobacco devices such as IQOS all belong outdoors alongside cigarettes.
Pack your device in your hand luggage — the airport’s own packing guidance lists vapes and e-cigarettes as carry-on items, never checked baggage. Since June 2025 disposable vapes can no longer be sold anywhere in the UK, so bring a refillable device from home rather than counting on buying one at the airport.
Summary
| Area | Smoking Allowed | Location Details |
|---|---|---|
| Smoking shelter in front of the terminal | Yes | Covered landside shelter; the only permitted spot |
| Inside the terminal | No | Smoke-free throughout, including e-cigarettes |
| After security / departure lounge | No | Smoke at the shelter before you clear security |
| Executive Lounge | No | Airside and smoke-free; no terrace |
| Vaping | Outdoor shelter only | Same rule as cigarettes; pack devices in hand luggage |
For United Kingdom airport smoking rules, vaping rules, and other general info, see our United Kingdom smoking guide.