Yes, you can smoke at Southampton Airport (SOU) at the designated area outside the terminal, on the central forecourt, before security. The airport’s own guidance puts it plainly: smoking is not permitted inside the airport buildings in line with UK law, and “there is a designated smoking area outside the terminal, on the central forecourt.”
The Designated Smoking Area
There is one smoking location at SOU and it sits on the central forecourt, immediately outside the terminal building. Walk out of the main doors, move clear of the entrance, and use the marked area — it is a few steps from the check-in desks on one side and from the footbridge to Southampton Airport Parkway station on the other.
Southampton is one of the easiest UK airports for a pre-flight cigarette precisely because everything is close together. The terminal is compact enough that stepping outside from check-in, smoking and walking back in takes a couple of minutes, and there is no long walk from a distant car park or satellite building to negotiate first.
After Security
Once you clear security control into the departure lounge, the airport’s rule is that you will not be able to smoke — the departure lounge, the Spitfire Lounge, the gates and the walk or bus out to the aircraft are all smoke-free. The designated forecourt area is the last place to light up before you fly.
If you find yourself airside with time in hand, exiting and re-clearing is workable at a terminal this size: leave through arrivals, smoke on the central forecourt and rejoin the security queue. Southampton’s queues are short compared with the big London airports, so a 40-minute cushion is usually enough — the safer plan is still to smoke before you go through in the first place.
Southampton’s traffic is mostly point-to-point, with connections picked up at the far end. If you are flying KLM to Amsterdam, note that Schiphol’s designated smoking area on Jan Dellaertplein is landside, before security, so plan your next cigarette for after you have fully arrived; on Loganair’s Edinburgh service, see smoking at Edinburgh Airport. Our guide to smoking during layovers sets out how much time a smoke break really needs.
Terminal Layout
Southampton operates a single terminal at Eastleigh, about four miles northeast of Southampton city centre, handling just under a million passengers a year. Check-in desks and the left-luggage desk sit in the main concourse before security; past the checkpoint, the departure lounge holds WHSmith, World Duty Free on the lower level and the Spitfire Lounge. easyJet, KLM, Loganair, Aurigny and TUI serve the airport, with the 164-metre runway extension completed in 2023 opening the airfield to larger jets.
The rail connection is the airport’s calling card: Southampton Airport Parkway station is 99 steps from the main terminal across a lift-served footbridge, with Southampton city centre 7 minutes away, Winchester 10 and London Waterloo about 69. Smoking is not permitted on the platforms or the covered footbridge, so use the airport’s forecourt area on either leg of the journey.
Vaping and E-Cigarettes
Vape at the same designated area on the central forecourt. Southampton’s published policy allows customers to use electronic cigarettes outside the terminal building before security only — e-cigarettes are not permitted inside the terminal building, nor when travelling to or from the aircraft on foot or by bus, which matters here because several stands are reached by an outdoor walk. Heated-tobacco devices such as IQOS and glo are treated identically. Since June 2025 disposable vapes can no longer be sold anywhere in the UK, so travel with a refillable device rather than counting on buying one airside.
Summary
| Area | Smoking Allowed | Location Details |
|---|---|---|
| Central forecourt outside the terminal | Yes | The designated smoking area; landside, before security |
| Inside the terminal building | No | Smoke-free throughout, in line with UK law |
| After security / departure lounge | No | Includes the Spitfire Lounge and the gates |
| Walking or bus to the aircraft | No | Cigarettes and e-cigarettes both covered |
| Parkway station and footbridge | No | Non-smoking under railway byelaws |
| Vaping | Outdoor area only | Outside the terminal before security, IQOS included |
For United Kingdom airport smoking rules, vaping rules, and other general info, see our United Kingdom smoking guide.