A major U.S. airport wants to add smoking areas

Many international airports provide smoking spaces within the terminals for smokers (and vapers). However, smoking is prohibited inside most U.S. airport facilities due to clean indoor air laws that many cities and states have passed over the years. Designated smoking areas, if present, are located outdoors.

There are also reservations. Smokers can still find smoking rooms, patios and other “smoking allowed” spaces after security at terminals in Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, Tampa and Gulfport, Mississippi.

And, by 2026, a major U.S. airport may join the list.

On October 1, the Wayne County Airport Authority, which operates Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), issued a request for proposals for a new food and beverage concession program at DTW’s McNamara Terminal.

The request includes a proposed bar/lounge concept offering food, retail cigars and an enclosed cigar smoking area located in Concourse A near gates 43 to 47.

Smoking has been prohibited in DTW’s bars and restaurants since the passage of Michigan’s Smoke-Free Indoor Air Act in 2010. But the law exempts independent cigar lounges.

Cortez Strickland, the airport’s communications and public relations manager, said the inclusion of a cigar bar in DTW’s current request “is in response to interest from the community and local businesses, particularly as it relates to the international nature of the airport.”

The request calls for bidders to provide state-of-the-art air handling and ventilation systems and facility design to “minimize” smoke exposure, he added.

The DTW cigar lounge proposal is due in January 2026, but many non-smokers, workers’ rights organizations and non-smoking rights groups are not sold on the lounge idea, and a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study reported that secondhand smoke is a problem in many non-smoking areas of airports with smoking lounges.

“In addition to all the usual difficulties of flying, [DTW] “Travelers will now have to deal with the extreme health hazards of secondhand smoke as they travel through this busy hub,” said Cynthia Hallett, president and CEO of the National Foundation for Non-Smokers’ Rights. “Not only that, but airport workers will be forced to inhale toxic fumes to make a living.”

Which other U.S. airports have post-security smoking areas?

Harry Reid International Airport (LAS)

Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport has eight gaming lounges that allow smoking. Each lounge has slot machines in enclosed, ventilated spaces, and access to these spaces is restricted to travelers 21 years of age and older. The airport noted that while smoking is allowed in these lounges, marijuana and other cannabis products cannot be consumed in the lounges because those substances are prohibited from use inside the airport under federal law.

At LAS, there is a smoking gaming lounge at Gates A and B in Terminal 1. There are two lounges at Gate C of Terminal 1, close to gates C5 and C25.

There are two lounges in Concourse D, close to gates D16 and D50. There are also two lounges at Gate E of Terminal 3, close to Gate E3 and Gate E14.

Miami International Airport (MIA)

At Miami International Airport, smokers can order a drink and/or a meal on the outdoor patio of TGI Friday’s restaurant, located in Concourse D, North Terminal, next to Gate D36. There is also an area on the side of the terrace where smokers can stand and smoke without purchasing.

Tampa International Airport (TPA)

Tampa International Airport (TPA) has four separate post-security airside terminals: Airside A, C, E and F. There are covered outdoor smoking areas in each terminal.

Look for these lounges near gates A18, C30, E62 and F88.

Nashville International Airport (BNA)

At Nashville International Airport, smokers may smoke in the Travelers Post smoking room in Concourse B near Gate B10. The lounge is an airport concession and includes a small shop adjacent to the airy enclosed lounge. Drinks are served here and admission is paid. Posting hours are 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport (GPT)

Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport in Mississippi has five gates and filtered smoking rooms located next to gates 2 and 3.