Yes, you can smoke at Long Island MacArthur Airport (ISP) outdoors, at the terminal curb and on the sidewalks outside the building, well clear of the entrance doors. The terminal is smoke-free from the ticket counters through to the gates, so a departing smoker steps outside first and clears the TSA checkpoint afterwards. ISP is a single-terminal airport with one checkpoint, which makes that round trip far quicker than it would be at Kennedy or LaGuardia.
How Long Island MacArthur Airport Is Laid Out
ISP has one main terminal in Ronkonkoma, open 24 hours a day, with ticket counters and baggage claim on the landside half and a single concourse — the Veterans Memorial Concourse — beyond the TSA checkpoint. Gates run A1 to A8 in one line, plus Gate B15 for Cape Air’s regional flights. The checkpoint opens at 3:45 a.m. and the shops and restaurants open at 4:00 a.m.
Six airlines serve the airport: JetBlue at Gate A1, Breeze Airways and Avelo Airlines at Gate A2, Frontier at Gates A3 and A4, Southwest at Gates A5 to A8, and Cape Air at Gate B15. The FAA’s preliminary figures put ISP at 790,218 boarding passengers in calendar year 2025, up 15.7% on the 682,804 it handled in 2024 — the 116th busiest airport in the United States, and by a wide margin the smallest and simplest of the New York area’s commercial fields.
That size is the whole story for a smoker. Parking sits immediately alongside the terminal, the gates are a short walk from the checkpoint, and the distance from any seat in the concourse to the open air outside is measured in minutes rather than shuttle rides.
Where to Smoke Outside the Terminal
Smoking at ISP is an outdoor activity. New York’s Clean Indoor Air Act keeps indoor public transport facilities across the state smoke-free, and the Town of Islip, which has owned and operated the airport since 1944, keeps its own buildings smoke-free as well — so the terminal interior, the concourse and every shop and restaurant inside are off limits.
That leaves the ground outside the building. Walk out of the main terminal doors, move clear of the entrances so nobody is smoking into the doorway, and use the curb or the sidewalk along the front of the terminal. The airport does not publish a map of marked smoking spots, so the safe approach is the simple one: put distance between yourself and the doors, stay out of the traffic lane at the curb, and put the butt in a receptacle rather than on the ground.
Ronkonkoma weather is worth a thought. Summer evenings on Long Island are mild and pleasant for an outdoor cigarette; January mornings run below freezing with wind off the Sound, and none of the terminal frontage is sheltered, so dress for the walk.
Gates A1 to A4
Smoking: Outdoors only — exit the terminal and move clear of the entrances. After security: The gates are smoke-free; every smoking spot is landside.
The western end of the Veterans Memorial Concourse holds JetBlue at A1, Breeze and Avelo sharing A2, and Frontier at A3 and A4, with a water bottle filling station between A2 and A3 and the Mothers’ Room just beyond the checkpoint. The walk back through the concourse and out to the curb takes about three minutes.
Gates A5 to A8 and Gate B15
Smoking: Outdoors only — exit the terminal and move clear of the entrances. After security: The gates are smoke-free; every smoking spot is landside.
Southwest works the far end of the concourse at Gates A5 to A8, alongside the food court with Nathan’s Famous and Great American Bagel & Bakery, the Travel Mart and Point Blue Pub & Provisions, which looks out over the runways. Cape Air’s Gate B15 sits off the same concourse on the opposite side. Even from A8 the exit is a five-minute walk, so it makes little difference to a smoker which gate your flight leaves from.
After Security
Every place you can smoke at ISP is before the TSA checkpoint. To smoke once you are airside you have to leave the secure area, step outside the terminal, and screen back in. ISP’s one checkpoint and modest passenger numbers make that far less daunting than it sounds — budget 20 to 30 minutes for the whole round trip and you will be back at the gate with time in hand.
If ISP is the first leg of a longer itinerary, our guide to smoking during layovers explains how to judge whether a connection leaves enough room to get outside and back. Both of the big alternatives across the county line work the same way: the smoking rules at JFK and the smoking rules at LaGuardia put every cigarette outside the terminal doors, with far longer walks and far longer security queues than you will meet at Islip.
E-Cigarettes and Vaping
Vaping and e-cigarettes follow the cigarette rules at ISP: outdoors, away from the terminal entrances, never inside the building or at the gates. New York’s Clean Indoor Air Act covers e-cigarettes on the same terms as tobacco, so there is no indoor exception for a vape. TSA allows vape devices and spare batteries in carry-on baggage only — they cannot travel in a checked bag — and using one on board an aircraft is prohibited by federal rule.
Summary
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal interior | No | Smoke-free from the ticket counters to the gates |
| Veterans Memorial Concourse (Gates A1–A8) | No | No smoking room; exit and re-clear security |
| Gate B15 (Cape Air) | No | Same concourse, same rule |
| Outside the terminal | Yes | Curb and sidewalks, clear of the entrance doors |
| Restaurants and bars | No | Point Blue, Dunkin’, the food court — all smoke-free |
| Vaping / e-cigarettes | Outdoor only | Same rules as cigarettes |
For USA airport smoking rules, state vape rules, lighter rules at TSA, and other federal/state info, see our USA smoking guide.