Yes, you can smoke at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) — designated smoking areas are located outdoors outside Terminals 1 and 2, marked with signs. The terminals are smoke-free indoors, so step outside to one of the designated areas.
Raleigh-Durham serves the Research Triangle region of North Carolina and operates from Terminals 1 and 2. RDU is a smoke-free airport, so all smoking happens at the outdoor designated areas rather than inside the buildings.
How RDU Is Laid Out
RDU has two separate landside terminals flanking the central parking decks, and they are not connected after security — each has its own TSA checkpoint. Terminal 1 is the smaller building, a single Concourse A (gates A1–A9) used by low-cost carriers such as Southwest, Breeze, Avelo, Alaska and Sun Country. Terminal 2 is the larger one, with Concourses C and D (around 36 gates) handling all international flights plus American, Delta, United, JetBlue and the foreign airlines. Because the two terminals don’t link airside, a smoke break means leaving and then re-clearing the same terminal’s checkpoint — there is no walking across to the other building airside. The airport’s long-term Vision 2040 master plan expands these two existing terminals rather than adding a brand-new one.
Where to Smoke
RDU’s official guidance is clear: the airport is smoke-free and smoking is prohibited in all public areas, including all restaurants and bars. Designated smoking locations are at the curb outside the terminals, near the drop-off and pick-up lanes, marked with signs and equipped with ash receptacles. Each one appears with a smoking symbol on the Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 directories, so you can check the map inside the building before stepping out.
Each terminal has its own designated area on its own curb front, so smoke at the building you are flying from — there is no need to walk over to the other terminal. Every designated area sits before security, on the public side of the checkpoint. The airport authority’s rule keeps smoking at least 20 feet clear of terminal doorways, so stand back from the entrances when you light up.
Airside, every gate area is smoke-free. If you are past the checkpoint and want to smoke, you will need to exit the terminal to the curbside area and clear security again to return, so plan around your departure time.
E-Cigarettes and Vaping
RDU’s published smoking policy is written around cigarettes and does not call out e-cigarettes separately; vaping is treated the same in practice: not permitted indoors anywhere in the terminals, and restricted to the same designated outdoor smoking areas as cigarettes.
Summary table
| Area | Smoking | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Indoor terminals | No | Smoke-free, including all restaurants and bars |
| After security (airside) | No | No indoor smoking room; exit and re-clear to return |
| Outdoor designated areas | Yes | Curbside outside Terminals 1 and 2, marked with signs |
| Vaping | Designated outdoor areas only | Not permitted indoors |
Also flying elsewhere in the Carolinas? See our guide to smoking at Charlotte Douglas (CLT).
For USA airport smoking rules, state vape rules, lighter rules at TSA, and other federal/state info, see our USA smoking guide.