Yes, you can smoke at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport (MHT) outdoors, on the sidewalks and curbs around the terminal, well clear of the entrance doors. The terminal building itself is smoke-free from the ticket counters through to gates 1 to 15, so a departing smoker steps outside first and clears the security checkpoint afterwards. MHT is a compact single-terminal airport with one checkpoint, which makes that round trip far quicker than it would be at a big connecting hub.
How Manchester-Boston Regional Airport Is Laid Out
MHT has one passenger terminal of 308,000 square feet spread over three floors. The first floor holds the airline ticket counters, baggage claims 1 to 5, the information booth, the Airport Communications Center and lost and found. The second floor holds the single security checkpoint and, past it, all 15 gates along with most of the food and shopping. The third floor is airport administration plus a public observation area reached by the stairs from the second floor. The parking garage links to the terminal by an enclosed pedestrian walkway on Level 2, and long-term parking is currently consolidated into that garage.
Five airlines serve Manchester — American, Breeze Airways, Southwest, Sun Country and United — flying 14 nonstop destinations with 24 departures a day. The airport handled 1.4 million passengers in 2025 according to its own 2026 media guide, and it sits less than fifty miles north of Boston, which is why plenty of New England travellers use it as the quieter alternative to Logan.
Where to Smoke Outside the Terminal
Smoking at MHT is an outdoor activity. Rule 4.2 of the airport’s published Rules and Regulations prohibits smoking, matches, lighted cigars, cigarettes and electronic cigarettes in any room or building on the airport except in areas specifically designated by the Airport Director — and the terminal directory marks no such area indoors. New Hampshire’s Indoor Smoking Act covers publicly owned buildings, and the terminal is owned by the City of Manchester, so the whole building is smoke-free.
That leaves the ground outside. The two spots that work in practice are the departures curb on the second-floor roadway, where the ticket-counter doors let out, and the arrivals curb on the first floor outside baggage claim. Both are open sidewalk, so walk past the doors before you light up rather than standing in the entrance. The open ground over by the parking garage, where the pedestrian walkway crosses to the terminal, is the other option, and it is usually calmer than the terminal frontage.
The Indoor Smoking Act reaches enclosed places only, so the buffer at the doors comes down to airport signage and plain courtesy: get well away from the entrances and the air intakes. None of the outdoor areas is sheltered or heated, and Manchester winters run cold with snow on the ground from December through March, so dress for the walk out.
Second Floor: Gates 1 to 15
Smoking: Outdoors only — exit the terminal and move clear of the entrances. After security: The gates are smoke-free; every smoking spot is landside.
All of MHT’s gates run off one second-floor concourse past the checkpoint, so it makes no difference to a smoker which gate your flight leaves from. The airport’s printable terminal directory places The Local @ MHT, Sam Adams Brewhouse, Burger King, Starbucks, the Rustic Market grab-and-go counter, several Hudson news and gift shops and an NH Liquor & Wine Outlet on the boarding-area side. The walk from the far end of the concourse back down to the curb takes about five minutes at a normal pace.
First Floor: Ticketing and Baggage Claim
Smoking: Outdoors only — step out through the baggage-claim doors and away from the entrance. After security: Not applicable; this level is entirely landside.
The first floor is where you arrive and where you check in, and its doors open straight onto the arrivals curb — the shortest route to a cigarette if you have just landed. Baggage claims 1 and 2 sit at one end and 3, 4 and 5 at the other, with the friends and family greeting areas beside them. A Starbucks and the airport information booth are on this level, all landside.
After Security
Every place you can smoke at MHT is before the security checkpoint. To smoke once you are airside, you have to leave the secure area through the exit lane, go down to the first floor, step outside, and screen back in. The terminal is small enough that the walking itself barely registers — budget 20 to 30 minutes for the whole round trip and you will be back at the gate with time in hand.
If you want a drink before you commit to the checkpoint, the second-floor public area has the Shipyard Pub and a Dunkin’ on the near side of security, so you can eat, step out for a smoke, and screen through only when you are ready.
MHT is often one leg of a longer New England itinerary, and our guide to smoking during layovers covers how to judge whether a connection leaves you enough room to get outside and back. If you are weighing Manchester against the bigger airports nearby, Boston Logan’s thirteen marked outdoor smoking areas sit on the curbside sidewalks outside Terminals A, B and C, and Providence T.F. Green keeps its designated areas along the terminal frontage in the same landside pattern.
E-Cigarettes and Vaping
Vaping and e-cigarettes follow the same rules as cigarettes at MHT: outdoors, away from the terminal entrances, never inside the building or at the gates. The airport’s Rules and Regulations name electronic cigarettes explicitly alongside cigars, cigarettes and pipes, so there is no grey area indoors. 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 ticketing to the gates |
| Gates 1 to 15 (second floor) | No | No smoking room; exit and re-clear security |
| Baggage claim and ticketing (first floor) | No | Landside, still smoke-free indoors |
| Departures curb | Yes | Second-floor roadway sidewalk, clear of the doors |
| Arrivals curb | Yes | First-floor sidewalk outside baggage claim |
| By the parking garage | Yes | Open ground at the Level 2 walkway approach, away from the doors |
| Restaurants and bars | No | All indoor areas 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.