Despite strict prohibitions against smoking in the United Kingdom, you can still smoke at two locations inside London Heathrow Airport. I’ve updated this guide for 2024.
A few years ago, I wrote a post entitled, The Secret Place to Smoke Airside at LHR. That story pointed out “secret” locations in Terminals 2 and 5 where smoking is technically possible. But Heathrow also has two officially designated smoking areas, one in Terminal 2, the other in Terminal 4. Both are intended for departing passengers.
Let’s start with Terminal 4. Once you are past security, follow the smoking signs. You’ll walk toward the end of the terminal, head downstairs via two sets of escalators, exit via double doors, and come out in an enclosed outdoor cage:
Terminal 2 offers a similar smoking lounge. You can locate it in the A Gate area near gate A1. Head downstairs to the smoking area, just like in Terminal 4.
Once you reach the ground floor, turn right and you’ll see the entrance to the smoking area, which will take you around the corner inside a caged-off area and into the actual smoking room.
Terminal 3 used to have a cage in the transit area, but no longer does.
Terminal 5 does not have a smoking area on the secure side.
There are also outdoor smoking areas at each terminal located on the ground level (arrivals level).
Smoking Still Officially “Prohibited” at London Heathrow
I’m not sure why the Heathrow website does not list these two smoking areas. On the contrary, it explicitly states that smoking is prohibited in all areas of Heathrow Airport. It’s not. The map images above with the smoking symbols are official airport maps.
Heathrow is a smoke-free airport, in line with British law on smoking in enclosed public spaces.
Smoking is permitted in designated areas outside the terminal building.
However, please be aware that once you have passed through security control, you will not be able to smoke anywhere in the departure lounge.
If you are catching a connecting flight at Heathrow, please note that smoking is not permitted during the connection process. It’s only possible to access the outdoor smoking areas by entering the UK (via passport control), and you would then have to pass through security control to return to the departure lounge.
Again, don’t be confused by this website. Smoking is officially permitted in at least two parts of the airport. I have no idea why LHR has not updated that website language in over six years.
CONCLUSION
I receive a fair number of questions about smoking at London Heathrow and I understand why. LHR is one of the most difficult airports to travel through and enjoying a smoke between connecting flights is extremely burdensome. But facilities do in fact exist for smokers, even if the official website suggests otherwise.
Strictly speaking those places ARE outside the terminal building 😉
I found it quite cold in January going outside to smoke my pipe .
Thanks for doing these.
I wish more airports would use common sense and create these outdoor airside smoking areas instead of being so rigid, or providing indoor rooms that are poorly ventilated. Contrast HKG and SIN, in my opinion Changi gets it perfectly right.
You really get one inquiry per week about smoking in LHR?
Yes. Thank my google ranking on smoking at Heathrow.
Would there be any smoking areas in Terminal 5 , what whould be the closest area , I will be on a layover of 10 hrs
Frankly, the easiest thing to do, assuming specific nationality (American, Canadian, Japanese, etc.) the easiest thing to do is go through immigration, go outside and have a cigarette and then come back in. This is especially easy if you have Oneworld Emerald status as you can re-enter through the First Wing which is super easy and fast. Even though I don’t really smoke anymore I’ve done this on connections since it’s often faster than going through security (again) for a connecting flight.
Matthew, I think the Terminal 3 Map actually shows the smoking area in the bus station outside of terminal 3 (ie well and truely boast baggage claim
Hi Matt, I’m sorry I wasn’t clear, but I did indeed mean to state the smoking area is outside the bus station.
Is there any smoking areas in terminal 5 , I will be staying there for almost 9 hours to catch the following connection flight not to mention that I will be arriving after flying for almost 10 hours coming from the USA
There used to be a vape lounge in T5, but was closed by regulators. Only way to avoid going through immigration is to go to T4, pass through security, used the smoking lounge there, then return to T5 before your flight. I’d probably just go through immigration.
Hey
Is this manner you don’t need to pass immigration/passport control ?
Am flying from Mumbai to LHR to JFK
Don’t have a valid UK visa
No immigration/passport control necessary.
Matthew . Hello. I’m not the traveler nor the smoker but my 23 year old daughter is. While a pro at backpacking Europe this is her longest flight going Berlin to Australia with the stop in London . Stressful enough without smoking. I see Singapore she can but London virtually impossible. (I thought US was a “nanny state”!)I see T3 area closed now correct? Is it risky to go outside of airport if she has a 3 hour layover landing in 5 departing from 3? Just thought would help with the long flight to Singapore.
She can go into T4. The smoker’s lounge is still there. It will take her about an hour.
To Judy, assuming your daughter wouldn’t need a visa, the best thing to do is go through immigration at T5, have a smoke and then take the Heathrow Express to T3 (it’s free between terminals). At T3, have another couple of smokes and then go through security. 3 hours should be plenty of time to do this.
T2 has a smoking area. As someone stated it’s close to gate A1. Two escalators down and you’ll have to walk up. It was a nice touch with heating lamps.
Thanks for the data point.
I can confirm that as of Aug 2023 this is still the case.
I can’t believe that you didn’t build a lounge on the roof with a dome that can be open to air for ventilation during dry days and on cold and rainy, snowy days you have proper vents.
The one outside terminal 3 is gone now 🙁
Thank for the data point.
Can confirm the Smoking area in Terminal 4 is still open. Also, I had a connection at Terminal 3, but if you have enough time you can still go to Terminal 4 and tell the nice lady at the entrance (airside) why you want to enter Terminal 4. She actually didn’t want to let me in and wanted to check my boarding pass and that my flight leaves from Terminal 4, but when I told her I just want to smoke she was like “Oh, okay, sure”.
Alex:
How did you get from the terminal you arrived in over to terminal 4 and then when done smoking, how did you get from terminal 4 to your connecting flight at terminal 1? All by flight connections buses?
Thanks
Is the smoking cage area outside via the connections bus from terminal 3 to 5 still open?
Still there, thanks.
thanks Sami. I hope it is still there when I fly through Heathrow on 12/28 as I have a 2 hour and 20 minute connection and have to go from terminal 3 to terminal 5. Without the cage en route via connections, I fear I won’t have enough time to otherwise go to terminal 5 and go outside to smoke by going through immigration to go outside the terminal to smoke and then back in through immigration and security to catch my flight.
Thank you matt! I’ve been avoiding transferring in LHR due i thought they don’t have smoking room inside lol. Now i can put lhr as one of my transfer point.
Hey Matt! Have a flight arriving into Terminal 4 and and onward connection from Terminal 3. Believe the Terminal 4 smoking area is still operational. Whats the best option in this case? Connection times approx 2 hours.
Thanks
Re-clear security in T4, smoke, then ask to be escorted back downstairs to transfer via bus to T3.
Terminal 2 now has a smoking area downstairs at gate a1
Really? Any pictures you can share?
Any updates for this summer…Are the smoking areas still available and if so , which ones? Much appreciation from California…
Hi Linda, I believe these are all still available.
Hi I am about to go into terminal 2 , please could u help me find the smoking area , thank u so very much
I’m currently in Terminal 5 and have more than an hour left till boarding time.
You can’t change Terminal and you are not allowed to leave for Smoking as long as you don’t have at least 3 hours left. That was the official statement from airport security and British Airways. Had no problems to do this today in San Diego with the gov. shutdown.
Being allowed to leave maybe not the right way for the Uk 😉
Hi Smokers, I am a transit passenger via Terminal 5 heathrow and having a layover of 4.15 hours. I want to know options of smoking during layover. Help would be much appriciated.
Friends need your help.
Hi please could u tell me were to go in terminal 2 thank u so much
Arriving 8:30 LHR Terminal 2 on June 12, 2019 from Canada. Then flight at 12;45 to Cornwall, also from Terminal 2. Can I exit Term 2 to smoke before checking in for the second flight? Any advice is appreciated.
They won’t let me have a smoke I have a 3hr 25min layover so I’m smoking in the toilet ahhh it’s so worth it I have a nice head spin. Indian men are the cleaners here he knew I was smoking and didn’t say anything 🙂 going to have another smoke in 30 mins
This is Exhibit A of why we need designated smoking areas on the secure side of major international airports.
Matthew,
Do you have one updated information about smoke Lounge in Heathrow?
Is still possible to smoke durinh a connection flight?
If not, i’m thinking to book one flight with a very long layover (beteenn 4 ir 6) hr to go outside and have pacefully cigar.
There are any rules about the mínimun time of layover? Or just do imigrantion, Security and regular proceds?
Smoking area is still at t4 as discribed as at 4th Sept 2019
Is there a smoking area still near gate A1 at Terminal 2?
In area 3, dosen’t have??? Omg. So discrimination. For someone who smoke 25-30 cigarettes per day, it’s unbelievable to travel around 20h without smoking. Is to expensive for airport to make smoke area in each gate???
Hi all in flying for t-3 this week is there any smoking areas there yet
At this point, not sure. Please report back on your findings here.
No smoking area in t-3 been closed for some time
On the brighter note there’s one on my way back from Vegas
That way I love Swiss and German Airports.
Thanks Matthew
I can confirm that T4 still has a smoking section.
I arrived at T3 and departed T3 so had to catch a bus to T4 (14 odd mins) then the lovely lady who scans your ticket will say that you’re not allowed through… unless its to smoke 😉 go through security, follow the signs and “hey Presto!” Even a Costa vending machine so you can get a coffee with your smoke, the red warming lamps are a treat with the cold weather out.
Enjoy
I had a flight last week and can confirm that there’s an outdoor smoking area in terminal 2 gate B18
I’m going to update this post. I was just in LHR last week, visited that area, and took several pictures.
T2 smoking area still open
Yes. I’ve got to update this post with some new pictures. Thanks for the reminder!
Traveling to LHR on Monday, for a lay over. We’ll be in T-5 where can we go to smoke ( with this COVID crap in place)?
There is no smoking area, to my knowledge, in T5, but you can head to T2 where you can smoke.
Hi all
Guessing things have changed over the years. But i will be in Heathrow Terminal 5 for 8 hours waiting for my connecting flight next month.
Options for smoking? Is the one in terminal 4 still there?
Thanks
T4 currently closed but will open soon. T2 certainly has one still. Not sure about T5.
How to get to terminal 2 from t5 ?
I need more context. Will you be on the secure side in T2?
Went through T4 a few days ago, still has same smoking section (despite the staff saying otherwise:)
Matthew, thank you for your updates on smoking areas at Heathrow. With that, this October, I will be flying to Vienna with a four hour layover at Heathrow. Making sure I understand, T4 does have a smoking area or cage or something beyond the checkpoint. I don’t want to have to go past security to enjoy a smoke between flights. If that is confirmed, is there link transportation between terminals after security? I will be flying from the US on American, but not sure what terminal I will be landing. Your help with this is greatly appreciated.
Each terminal is not linked on the secure side – it is actually quite complicated and cumbersome to switch terminals. I have not been back to T4 since it re-opened (it was the last LHR terminal to re-open) but hope the smoking area is still there. Please let ue know.
T2 smoking lounge open . follow signs for smoking area, and A1.
T4 smoking area is in good shape.
Hello,
I will be flying into LHR terminal 5 and then transferring for an onward flight from terminal 3 my transfer time is 10 + hrs not to mention very long flight from USA to Sri Lanka stopping in London. I am smoker. What should I do? I am getting confused.
Head to Terminal 2 (even though your ticket is for Terminal 5) and you can use the smoking area there. You will have to go downstairs and take the bus to T5 (and clear security again) when you are done smoking. I would spend eight hours in T2 smoking, then two hours before your flight head over to T5. You will not have to enter the UK.
And I don’t have a valid Uk visa either
I looked on the airport maps and I don’t see a T2 smoking lounge? I understand why airports don’t want smoke fumes everywhere, but they should come up with some type of outdoor cage/balcony etc. I have specifically avoided certain flights, simply due to the connection point. I fly a lot for business, and have purposefully avoided flights that have connections at non smoking air ports. Not only is that lost revenue for the airlines, but its also lost shopping/food revenue for the airports. You would think they would come up with a solution , so they could increase their profit margin. Maybe smokers just aren’t vocal enough and we need to start a writing campaign 🙂
T2 does have a smoking area. I saw it during my last visit. Follow the signs past security and you’ll have to go downstairs and out into a little cage.
Security personal do not allow you to go to T4 from T5, even if u have more than 5hrs layover
That was not my experience either, but my T4 visit was pre-pandemic.
I think it’s time we stop accommodating smokers. It’s an absolute nuisance to others, and even when there are clearly defined boundaries, smokers never respect them.
Some smokers clearly do break their boundaries but not accommodating them only makes it worse when they sneak into the bathrooms and stink them up. It’s a foul habit but nonetheless, accommodation is the lesser of two evils.
Well, aren’t you The Arbiter of All That Is Right And Appropriate?
YVR used to have a post security cage for smokers. It was quite disgusting and after a few months being open the Workers Compensation people closed it as it was considered a dangerous working area for the cleaners.
Do you smoke? !?
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yes, but does she smoke?
Still smoking area there ? In terminal 4
Yes, was just in T4 recently. Exactly the same.
T2 smoking area beside Gate A1 still exists 😉
Thanks to the author.
Smokers are jokers
Home outside smoker only. It’s stinky and I’ve long come to terms with it. Whilst I don’t smoke much anymore, I refuse to make others uncomfortable. Maybe you don’t need to quit, but you can control it.
There should be a trap door that drops the smokers into a bottomless pit
Matthew, I appreciate you doing articles like this. Smokers are a somewhat oppressed group these days and information like this is helpful to a portion of the population. Giving them a place to do their thing where they don’t bother others is a good thing and I support it.
@Billy Bob, perhaps the bottomless pit would be better used to house intolerant cretins such as yourself.
Disclaimer: I’m not a smoker and would never need these smoking areas personally – but others do
Kudos to Matt for the PSA.
Matt is too young to remember, but back before the 90’s it was the other way around: smokers oppressed everyone around them who didn’t want to breath their secondhand smoke but also by, well, pushing the activity onto minors to achieve a majority consensus bully pulpit. Nearly all the smokers I know began when they were young and naive. How many people over the age of 21 make an informed decision to become smokers?
When I complained that it was difficult for me to breath with a smoker in the room, the smokers would mock and dismiss my concerns. They even laughed as this enhanced their “cool rebel” reputation that was part of a successful advertising campaign. “Cool people” are obnoxious and don’t care what others think. When I called restaurants and asked if they allowed smoking, they were enthusiastic about it and said “of course!” when I was really trying to find a restaurant where I could enjoy and smell food without a foul accompanying odor. Restaurants and planes would say they had “non-smoking” sections which were a bit of a joke, sort of frying-pan-vs-fire situations.
Smoking is literally an offensive behavior unlike, say, listening to music which can be done with $1 earphones versus putting it on speaker mode because Tim Cook decided getting rid of headphone jacks saves $2/unit. It’s possible to consume alcohol in a socially respectful manner. Even firearms can be utilized without harm to others (aside paper targets).
But cigarette smoking? It’s a DISGUSTING vice revealing either a lack of personal discipline or respect for others. I tell my daughter this: “How many people you respect say they don’t want to be around someone who doesn’t smoke?”
All that said, returning to Matt’s point: It’s better they have their smoking areas than “lose it” and then stink up the bathrooms or other areas. I’d say, though, the anti-smoking campaigns are one form of “progress” I’m fully in support of.
I am amused that non smokers such as Billy Bob and Jerry take time out of their day to post comments on an article that seems to annoy the crap out of them. Carry on, fellas. I’ll burn one in your “honor” later this morning.
I certainly remember those days and hating that smoke ruining my dinner or giving me a headache on the plane. But, in the early 2000s we seemed to reach a comprimise of sorts: smoking in smoking specific areas with separate ventilation, no smoking elsewhere. I always thought that was “problem solved”. Since then, we’ve gone way too far IMO. Two wrongs don’t make a right, Knight. Dzien dobry…..
Hi Matthew.
Thanks for your information here. I am transiting through T5 (both incoming arrival and outgoing departure) and don’t have a UK Visa/Passport.
Where can I smoke? Am I even allowed to go to other terminals?
You are – you can use both T4 and T2 (I recommend T4) if you tell them you are going to smoke. It is tedious, but it is allowed.
Look at you being a massive cûnt.
I have a 5 hours transit in London Heathrow…arriving and departing in terminal 3. i understand there’s no more smoking room in terminal 3 and i believe the easiest one is to go to terminal 2? Is the smoking room in terminal 2 still there? thanks
Yes, smoking in T2 and T4 are still available. T2 should be no problem.
Thanks 🙂 can you just walk there and do i need to clear security? Heathrow airport is the most confusing for me and I tried to check online but their map guidance is not helpful at all. their direction says it takes 10mins to walk underground and when you click on the interaction map, it says i need to take a bus??
You will need to take a bus from terminal to terminal and you’ll have to clear security in each terminal.
So if you land in T3, you’ll take the bus to T2, clear security, smoke, go back downstairs, take the bus back to T3, and clear security again.