London Heathrow Airport (LHR)

Smoking at London Heathrow Airport

London Heathrow Airport is not very friendly for smokers once you are post-security as there are no smoking or vaping facilities within the terminal buildings or on past-security premises.

There are no smoking areas in the terminal buildings, as smoking is only permitted outside of security.

Before Security

Outside security, smoking is permitted in designated areas outside your terminal.

The golden rule at Heathrow is therefore to smoke before security. Once past security into the secure departure area, you cannot expect to find a smoking room, smoking terrace or airside smoking cage.

After Security

Heathrow does not have any post-security smoking areas.

The older reports of airside smoking areas by Gate A1 in Terminal 2 and Gates 1-6 in Terminal 4 may not still be valid. Please confirm with a Heathrow staff member on the day. Heathrow states that once you have gone through security, you cannot smoke or vape anywhere on the airport premises.

Terminal Smoking Areas

Heathrow's official map shows smoking areas outside several of the terminals and transport areas.

Terminal 2 has smoking areas in Level 0 near Onward Travel, and curbside on Level 5.

Terminal 3 has several designated smoking points outside of the terminal at the Level 0 curbside.

Terminal 4 has smoking areas on Level 2 along the curbside and on Level 0 near Onward Travel.

There are several outdoor smoking areas in Terminal 5, near the Level 0 curbside and Parking Level 3.

There is also a smoking area at the Central Bus Station on Level 0, which is used when arriving by coach or moving between terminals before passing through security.

Connections and Layovers

Heathrow provides no convenience for smokers in transit.

Assuming you are connecting airside, smoking is not generally permitted, so you would have to clear passport control to exit the terminal and go outside to the designated smoking area before clearing security again.

This is impractical for most short connections.

Vaping at LHR

The same rules apply to vaping as to smoking at Heathrow.

Vaping is not allowed inside the terminal or after passing through security, only in designated outdoor smoking areas. If travelling with e-cigarettes or other vaping devices, ensure you check your airline's hand-luggage policies.

Practical Advice

There is a smoking area outside your own terminal, before check-in or before security.

If you are being dropped off, consider the Onward Travel areas or the Central Bus Station smoking area. These are close to outside your terminal on the curbside level, and near all public transport and inter-terminal coach connections.

After clearing security, do not smoke until you land at your travel destination.

Smoking and vaping are only allowed in designated outdoor smoking areas before security.