A major US airport wants to add a place to smoke

Many international airports offer spaces for smokers (and vapers) to light up inside the terminals. But, thanks to clean indoor air laws adopted over the years in many cities and states, smoking of any kind is prohibited inside most airport facilities in the U.S. Designated smoking areas — if they exist — are outside.

There are some holdouts. Smokers can still find smoking lounges, patios and other “smoking allowed” spots postsecurity at terminals in Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, Tampa and Gulfport, Mississippi.

And, come 2026, a major U.S. airport may join that list.

On Oct. 1, the Wayne County Airport Authority — which operates Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) — issued a Request for Proposals for new food-and-beverage concessions in DTW's McNamara Terminal.

That request includes a proposed bar/lounge concept with food, retail cigars and an enclosed cigar smoking area in Concourse A, near gates 43 through 47.

DTW’s bars and restaurants have been smoke-free since 2010, when Michigan’s Smoke-Free Indoor Air Law was passed. But the law makes an exemption for stand-alone cigar lounges.

The inclusion of a cigar bar in DTW’s current request "was developed in response to interest from the community and local businesses, especially as it relates to the international nature of the airport,” said Cortez Strickland, the airport’s communication and public relations manager.

He added that the request requires bidders to provide a state-of-the-art air handling and ventilation system and facility design to reduce smoke exposure “to the fullest extent possible.”

Proposals for the cigar lounge at DTW are due in January 2026, but the very idea of the lounge doesn’t sit well with many nonsmokers, workers’ rights organizations and nonsmoking rights groups, citing a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study that reported secondhand smoke issues in many nonsmoking areas at airports with smoking lounges.

"On top of all the usual difficulties that come with flying, [DTW] travelers will now have to deal with the extreme health hazard of secondhand smoke exposure as they pass through this busy hub,” said Cynthia Hallett, president and CEO of Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation. “Not only that, but airport workers will be forced to breathe in toxic fumes just to earn a living."

Which other US airports have postsecurity smoking areas?

Harry Reid International Airport (LAS)

At Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, there are eight gaming lounges where smoking is permitted. Each lounge has slot machines inside enclosed, ventilated spaces, and access to these spaces is restricted to travelers 21 and older. The airport notes that while smoking is allowed in these lounges, marijuana and other cannabis products cannot be used in the lounges because those substances are prohibited on airport property, per federal law.

At LAS, there is one gaming lounge that allows smoking at both the A and B gates in Terminal 1. There are two lounges in Terminal 1 at the Concourse C gates, near gates C5 and C25.

Concourse D has two lounges, near gates D16 and D50. There are also two lounges in Terminal 3 at the E gates, near Gate E3 and Gate E14.

Miami International Airport (MIA)

RICKY ARROLIGA/MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

At Miami International Airport, smokers can order a drink and/or a meal and light up on the outside patio of TGI Friday’s, which is in the North Terminal of Concourse D, by Gate D36. There is also a section off the side of the patio where smokers may stand and smoke without making a purchase.

Tampa International Airport (TPA)

Tampa International Airport (TPA) has four separate postsecurity airside terminals: airsides A, C, E and F. Each has a covered outdoor smoking area.

Look for these lounges by Gate A18, Gate C30, Gate E62 and Gate F88.

Nashville International Airport (BNA)

At Nashville International Airport, smokers can light up at the Travelers Post Smoking Lounge in Concourse B, near Gate B10. The lounge is an airport concession program and includes a small shop adjacent to a ventilated, enclosed lounge. Drinks are served here, and entry requires a fee. Posted hours are 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport (GPT)

Mississippi’s five-gate Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport has a filtered smoking room by gates 2 and 3.

And, come 2026, a major U.S. airport may join that list.

That request includes a proposed bar/lounge concept with food, retail cigars and an enclosed cigar smoking area in Concourse A, near gates 43 through 47.

DTW’s bars and restaurants have been smoke-free since 2010, when Michigan’s Smoke-Free Indoor Air Law was passed. But the law makes an exemption for stand-alone cigar lounges.

He added that the request requires bidders to provide a state-of-the-art air handling and ventilation system and facility design to reduce smoke exposure “to the fullest extent possible.”