Yes, you can smoke at Long Beach Airport (LGB) outdoors, on the landside curb in front of the terminal, standing clear of the doors. Long Beach’s city rules keep every enclosed public place smoke-free and hold smokers 20 feet back from any City building, and the airport’s own Rules and Regulations keep smoking off the aircraft ramp and off the open-air garden concourse past security — so the workable spot is the roadway side of the building, before you screen.
How Long Beach Airport Is Laid Out
LGB is a single-terminal airport built around two very different pieces of architecture. The 1941 Historic Terminal is a Streamline Moderne landmark by William Horace Austin and Kenneth Smith Wing, with a Grace Clements mosaic of more than a million hand-cut tiles; the City designated it a historic landmark in 1990, and it reopened on 31 July 2024 after a full restoration. It now houses the airport’s rental car customer service counters and its public rooms.
Behind it sits the passenger concourse that opened in 2012 — an indoor-outdoor building with 11 gate areas, local eateries and a post-security garden, walkways open to the sky between the gate lounges. That concourse is the reason LGB shows up on so many “nicest airport” lists, and it is also the reason the smoking answer here is more specific than at most US airports.
Southwest carries most of the traffic, with Alaska, Delta and Hawaiian filling out the board; the airport lists nonstop service to 21 airports. Everything runs through one security checkpoint, which is what keeps the exit-and-return trip short for smokers.
Where You Can Smoke
Smoking at LGB happens outdoors, on the landside side of the terminal — the curb and the open ground beyond the covered walkway, away from the doors. The City of Long Beach smoke-free rules put the nearest legal spot at least 20 feet from the building, the same setback the City applies to all State, County and City buildings, and California applies to the entrances of public buildings generally.
The airport does not publish a map of marked smoking spots, so there is no numbered area to aim for. What the airport rules do say is where a cigarette is never acceptable: fuel storage areas, within 50 feet of active fueling, aircraft movement areas, the passenger and cargo ramp and apron, and “any other place where smoking is specifically prohibited by signs.” Read the signs, stay well off the doors, and the curb works.
The Garden Concourse and After Security
The post-security garden is the part travelers ask about most, because it is genuinely outdoors — open sky, planting and seating between the gate lounges. It is smoke-free. The airport’s Rules and Regulations prohibit smoking on the passenger ramp and apron areas and on “any open deck, gallery or balcony contiguous to and overlooking any such area,” which is exactly what the concourse garden is, and Long Beach’s e-cigarette rules follow the same line for vapes.
Every smoking spot at LGB is therefore landside. To smoke after screening, walk back out through the concourse exit to the landside curb, smoke there, and clear the checkpoint again. LGB is small and single-checkpoint, and the walk from the farthest gate to the curb is a few minutes, so 20 to 30 minutes covers the round trip comfortably outside peak departure banks.
Construction Through 2027
LGB broke ground on 24 April 2026 on a $37 million Passenger Concourse Enhancement Project, backed by a $24.3 million FAA infrastructure grant and timed for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games. The work remodels the 11 gate areas and restrooms, upgrades the central garden with more hardscape, seating, canopies and lighting, and adds two open-air garden areas outside the north and south concourse. The airport states that no impacts to commercial flights are expected and that gate access will be accommodated during construction, with completion anticipated in summer 2027. None of the new outdoor spaces changes the smoking position: they sit airside, alongside the apron.
E-Cigarettes and Vaping
Vapes and e-cigarettes are treated exactly like cigarettes here. Long Beach prohibits electronic cigarette use in every smoke-free place, which covers the historic terminal, the concourse, the gate lounges and the open-air garden. Use the same landside outdoor spots you would for a cigarette. TSA allows vape devices and spare batteries in carry-on baggage; they are not permitted in checked bags.
Summary
| Area | Smoking Allowed | Location Details |
|---|---|---|
| Historic Terminal (ticketing, rental cars) | No | Smoke-free throughout |
| Passenger concourse gate lounges | No | Smoke-free past security |
| Open-air garden past security | No | Outdoors, next to the apron — covered by the airport rules |
| Aircraft ramp and apron | No | Also within 50 ft of fueling |
| Landside curb and parking areas | Yes | Outdoors, at least 20 ft clear of the terminal doors |
| Vaping / e-cigarettes | Outdoor only | Same rule as cigarettes, landside |
Flying out of Orange County instead? See our guide to smoking at John Wayne Airport (SNA), and our guide to smoking during layovers for exit-and-rescreen timing.
For USA airport smoking rules, state vape rules, lighter rules at TSA, and other federal/state info, see our USA smoking guide.