Yes, you can smoke at Cyril E. King Airport (STT) outdoors on the landside forecourt — the curb, walkways and parking areas in front of the terminal, kept clear of the doors. The terminal itself is smoke-free under the U.S. Virgin Islands Smoke-Free Act, so a departing smoker takes the break before going in. That matters more here than at most US airports, because passengers bound for the mainland clear US Customs pre-departure screening in addition to the TSA checkpoint.
How Cyril E. King Airport Is Laid Out
STT has a single terminal building. The ground floor covers 190,000 square feet and holds all eleven gates along with check-in and baggage claim; a 60,000-square-foot second floor sits above it. The Virgin Islands Port Authority signs the public areas by function rather than by level — the Domestic Passenger Lounge on the departures side, the domestic baggage claim on the arrivals side, and the commuter inter-island gates 10 and 11 at one end for the short island hops. The terminal is open from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily.
American, Delta, jetBlue, Southwest, Sun Country and United fly the mainland routes, and Cape Air, Contour, Fly the Whale, Sea Flight VI, Seaborne and Sky High Dominicana handle the inter-island and regional Caribbean services. The FAA counted 802,734 boarding passengers at STT in its preliminary 2025 figures, down slightly from 821,945 the year before, which makes this a small-hub airport with a big-airport queue on cruise-change days.
Change is under way. VIPA has brought in SkyCity as the special-purpose company for its airports public-private partnership, and the concept approved for St. Thomas renovates the existing terminal inside its current footprint and expands the second floor for passenger use. The three-level Dale A. Gregory parking facility opened in 2025, and the single runway is being resurfaced under nightly 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. closures that run through 2026 without touching daytime terminal operations. Nothing in that programme adds an indoor smoking room — the smoking picture at STT stays an outdoor one.
Where to Smoke Outside the Terminal
Smoking at STT is a landside, open-air activity. The Smoke-Free Act that covers the territory keeps lit tobacco at least twenty feet from any door, window or ventilation opening, so the move is to walk away from the frontage rather than to stand under the canopy with your bags.
The reliable spots are the far ends of the departures curb and the arrivals curb, where the drop-off crush thins out; the walkway across to the Dale A. Gregory parking facility; and the open parking areas beyond it. VIPA does not publish a map of marked smoking spots at the airport, so treat the twenty-foot rule as the standard: get clear of the doors, stay out of the taxi and shuttle lanes, and use a proper receptacle for the butt.
St. Thomas is warm all year and the forecourt is largely unshaded, so a midday cigarette in front of the terminal is a hot one. Tropical showers pass through quickly and the canopy over the curb is the only cover, which is exactly the part you are meant to stand away from — a few minutes’ patience usually beats sheltering by the doors.
Domestic Passenger Lounge
Smoking areas: Outdoors only — landside, in front of the terminal. After security: The departure lounge is smoke-free; every smoking spot is before the checkpoint.
This is where mainland and San Juan passengers wait, and it holds most of the airport’s post-security food and shopping: The Airport Bar and Rum Room, Hibiscus Cafe and Bar, Buddha Sushi, The Galley sandwich bar, Island Grind VI, plus Island News and Gifts, Fragrance Lab and Sandals for Your Neck. A separate Island Grind VI pizza counter sits at Gate 2. It is a comfortable place to wait, and it is sealed and air-conditioned — VIPA has added supplemental cooling units and air curtains at the gate doors precisely to keep the cool air in.
Commuter Inter-Island Gates 10 and 11
Smoking areas: Outdoors only — landside, in front of the terminal. After security: The commuter hold room is smoke-free; exit and re-clear screening.
Gates 10 and 11 serve the short inter-island hops to St. Croix, San Juan and the neighbouring islands, with a Concessions International outlet for coffee and snacks. Boarding here is often across the apron on foot, and walking to the aircraft is not a smoking opportunity — the ramp is an active aircraft movement area and is off limits for a cigarette.
After Security
Every place you can smoke at STT is before screening, and STT makes that a heavier line to cross than most US airports do. Because the U.S. Virgin Islands sit outside the US customs territory, mainland-bound passengers clear US Customs and Border Protection pre-departure processing at the airport as well as the TSA checkpoint. Backtracking for a cigarette means both queues a second time, and on a busy cruise-turnaround morning that is not a ten-minute errand.
The practical routine is simple: smoke on the curb, then go in and stay in. If you want a drink alongside that last cigarette, the Cruzan Landing bar sits landside in the baggage claim area next to the Tobaccoist and the Cardow liquor store, so you can have one, step outside, and only then join the screening queue. Arriving passengers get the easy version — bags first, then straight out through the doors and clear of them.
If St. Thomas is one leg of a longer trip, our guide to smoking during layovers covers how to judge whether a connection leaves you room to get outside and back. Many STT itineraries route through San Juan, where smoking is on the marked outdoor curbside areas, or through Miami, which keeps a rare open-air smoking atrium after security in Concourse D.
E-Cigarettes and Vaping
Vapes and e-cigarettes follow the cigarette rules at STT: outdoors, away from the terminal doors, never in the check-in hall, the departure lounge or baggage claim. TSA allows vape devices and spare lithium 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 check-in through to the gates |
| Domestic Passenger Lounge | No | No smoking room; exit and re-clear CBP and TSA |
| Commuter gates 10 and 11 | No | Smoke-free hold room; apron walk is off limits |
| Baggage claim | No | Smoke outside the doors instead |
| Outside the terminal | Yes | Curb ends, parking-garage walkway and parking areas, clear of the doors |
| Bars and restaurants | 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.