Last reviewed: 6 October 2026 by the APH Marketing team. Smoking areas are set by Manchester Airport and have moved during the terminal transformation works – if you want to double-check before you travel, the airport’s At the Airport pages are the authority.
Manchester Airport has one smoking area after security, and it is in Terminal 2. Terminal 3 has none – if you’re flying Ryanair, have your cigarette before you go through security. Vaping is banned everywhere inside both terminal buildings, and on every UK flight.
Here’s where you can smoke at each terminal, what to do if you’re flying from Terminal 3, and the rules for taking a vape on the plane.
At a glance: smoking and vaping at Manchester Airport
| Terminal | Airlines | Smoking after security | Smoking before security | Vaping indoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal 2 | All airlines except Ryanair | Yes – outdoor terrace on the upper level of the departure lounge | Yes – outside the main entrance, the departures drop-off zone and the arrivals exit | No |
| Terminal 3 | Ryanair | No | Yes – outside the main entrance and near the short stay car park entrance | No |
Smoking is banned on every UK flight, with no exceptions – the no-smoking signs stay lit from pushback to arrival, and the same applies to vaping. So your last cigarette is on the ground at Manchester, and which terminal you’re flying from decides whether that’s before or after security.
Terminal 1 has closed – check your terminal first
If you’ve read elsewhere about a smoking area near the food court in Terminal 1, that information is out of date.
Terminal 1 closed to passengers on 19 November 2025, when the last arrivals came in on an easyJet flight from Antalya. It had been open for more than 60 years. The closure is part of Manchester Airport’s £1.3 billion transformation programme, which has roughly doubled the size of Terminal 2.
- Terminal 2 now handles all airlines apart from Ryanair, including Emirates, easyJet, Jet2, TUI and the long-haul carriers.
- Terminal 3 handles Ryanair. Ryanair ran from a mix of Terminals 1 and 3 through the winter of 2025 before Terminal 1 shut completely in early 2026, and part of the old Terminal 1 departures building has since been absorbed into Terminal 3.
Check your boarding pass before you set off. The terminals are about a 15 to 20 minute walk apart, and the smoking arrangements at each are completely different – so getting this wrong costs you more than a cigarette.
Terminal 2: there is a smoking area after security
Terminal 2 has an outdoor smoking terrace airside, so you can clear security, get a coffee and have a cigarette before your gate is called.
It sits on the upper level of the departure lounge, above the main shopping and restaurant floor, reached by the escalators or lifts. Older guides – including some still online – place it “near Gate 300”. That was the pre-expansion layout; the lounge has been rebuilt around it, so follow the signage and the upper level rather than a gate number.
APH: Manchester Airport does not publish the exact position of this terrace on its facilities pages, so the description above is drawn from current traveller and specialist reports rather than an official source. A quick confirmation from the airport, or a photo taken on a site visit, would turn the weakest paragraph on this page into the strongest.
Two things worth knowing:
- It’s outdoors. Bring a coat if you’re on an early winter departure – this is an open terrace, not a smoking room.
- Keep an eye on the screens. Terminal 2’s new second pier has added a lot of walking distance between the lounge and the far gates. Don’t leave the terrace when the board says “final call” – leave when it says “go to gate”.
Terminal 3: smoke before you go through security
Terminal 3 has no smoking area after security. Once you’re through, that’s it until you land – and on a Ryanair flight to the Canaries that can be seven or eight hours from your last cigarette by the time you’ve cleared the airport at the other end.
So the advice for Terminal 3 is simple: have your cigarette outside before you go in, and build it into your timings rather than treating it as a bonus if the queue looks short. Outdoor areas are available outside the main entrance and near the short-stay car park entrance.
If you’d rather not go that long without nicotine, the airside options are the ones you don’t light or inhale: nicotine gum, lozenges, and pouches, which you can use in the departure lounge and on board, and patches are the usual choice for a longer flight. Buy them before you travel rather than hoping the airside pharmacy has your strength at 5am.
Can I go back out through security for a cigarette?
Not without being screened again from scratch. Once you’re airside, you can’t step outside and come back in without rejoining the security queue, with no way of knowing how long it will take on the day. Against a boarding time in peak season, that isn’t a gamble worth taking. Treat the cigarette before security as your last one.
Vaping at Manchester Airport
Vaping is treated the same as smoking inside the terminals: you cannot vape anywhere indoors, in either terminal, before or after security. That includes the toilets, where vapour sets off the smoke detectors and is one of the quicker ways to meet airport security.
You can vape in the outdoor smoking areas listed above – the Terminal 2 airside terrace and the landside areas at both terminals.
One thing that catches people out at the till rather than at security: single-use disposable vapes have been illegal to sell in the UK since 1 June 2025. Owning or carrying one isn’t an offence, so an older device won’t be confiscated, but you won’t be able to buy a replacement airside – or anywhere else in the UK. If you use disposables, bring a refillable or a rechargeable pod device.
Taking a vape on the plane
- Hand luggage only. The Civil Aviation Authority is explicit: vapes and e-cigarettes must be in your cabin bag. They are not allowed in checked baggage, because a lithium battery fire in the hold can’t be reached by the crew.
- No using it on board. Vaping is banned on all UK flights, in the cabin and in the toilets.
- No charging on board. Don’t plug a vape or a power bank into a seat USB socket. Several airlines have tightened their power bank rules – check yours before you fly.
- Spare batteries and power banks: cabin bag only, and the CAA sets a maximum of two spare batteries per passenger. Each one needs protection against short-circuiting- original packaging, a battery case, or tape over the terminals.
- E-liquid counts as a liquid. Each container must be 100ml or under. Manchester’s new scanners mean you no longer have to take liquids out of your bag at security, but the 100ml limit still applies.
For the full rules on flying with e-cigarettes, see our guide to vaping at UK airports.
Lighters, matches and duty-free tobacco
- Lighters: you can take one lighter through security at Manchester. It goes in a resealable plastic bag, and once you’re through it must stay on your person for the rest of the airport and the whole flight – not back in your hand luggage, and never in your hold bag.
- Matches: safety matches are allowed in hand luggage but not in the hold. Non-safety (“strike anywhere”) matches are banned from both.
- Duty-free tobacco coming back into Great Britain: your allowance is 200 cigarettes, or 100 cigarillos, or 50 cigars, or 250g of tobacco, or 200 sticks for a heated tobacco device. You can split it – 100 cigarettes and 25 cigars, for example. Go over, and you pay duty on the lot. Check the current position on GOV.UK before you buy, as allowances can change.
Before you get to the terminal: parking and transfers
If you’re driving to Manchester and parking, your last comfortable cigarette is usually at the car park rather than the terminal – especially if you’re flying from Terminal 3, where there’s nothing airside.
How much time that gives you depends on which car park you’ve booked. These are the transfer and walking times for the Manchester options on APH:
| Car park | Getting to the terminal | Terminals served |
|---|---|---|
| Meet & Greet Terminal 2 (P1) | 2–5 minute walk | T2 |
| Drop & Go (P16) | 2–5 minute transfer | T2, T3 |
| Multi-Storey Terminal 3 (P14) | 2–5 minute walk | T3 |
| Terminal 2 Multi Storey West (P3) | 5–10 minute walk | T2 |
| JetParks 1 | 5-minute transfer | T2 |
| JetParks 3 | 7–9 minute transfer | T2, T3 |
| APH Park and Ride | 10-minute transfer | T2, T3 |
| Maple Park & Ride | 20–25 minute transfer | T2, T3 |
The practical reading of that table for a smoker flying from Terminal 3: if you’re on a 20 to 25 minute transfer from Maple, your last cigarette is at the car park, and you should treat the bus as the cut-off. If you’re in the Terminal 3 multi-storey, you can walk out of the car park and smoke outside the entrance a couple of minutes before you check in.
Can I smoke at the APH car park?
Yes. APH’s Manchester car parks have dedicated smoking areas, so you can have a cigarette after you’ve parked and before you board your transfer. Smoking and vaping are not permitted on the transfer buses.
That makes the car park the sensible place for your last one if you’re flying from Terminal 3 – you’ll have more room and less of a rush there than you will at the terminal entrance. Our team on site will point you to the smoking area if you can’t see it.
Smoking and vaping are not permitted on the transfer buses.
If you’ve booked Meet & Greet, you hand your keys over at the terminal forecourt – which is where landside smoking is permitted at both terminals, so you can have one between the handover and walking in.
You can compare options and prices on our Manchester Airport parking page.
Smoking at Manchester Airport: FAQs
Is there a smoking area at Manchester Airport after security?
Yes, in Terminal 2 only – an outdoor terrace on the upper level of the departure lounge. Terminal 3 has no airside smoking area, so Ryanair passengers need to smoke before going through security.
Which terminal am I flying from?
Ryanair operates from Terminal 3. Every other airline uses Terminal 2. Terminal 1 closed to passengers on 19 November 2025. Your boarding pass will confirm it.
Can I vape inside Manchester Airport?
No. Vaping is banned throughout both terminal buildings, landside and airside, including the toilets. Use the outdoor smoking areas.
Can I smoke or vape on the plane?
No. Both are banned on all UK flights, including in the toilets, where the smoke detectors will pick it up.
Can I leave the departure lounge for a cigarette and come back?
You’d have to go through security screening again, and there’s no way to know how long that queue will be. Don’t plan on it.
Can I take my vape in my suitcase?
No. Vapes, e-cigarettes, spare batteries and power banks must all travel in hand luggage, never in checked baggage.
Can I take a lighter through security at Manchester?
One lighter, in a resealable plastic bag, kept on your person once you’re through security and for the whole flight. It cannot go in your hold luggage.
Can I still buy disposable vapes at the airport?
No. Single-use disposable vapes have been illegal to sell anywhere in the UK since 1 June 2025. Bring a refillable or rechargeable device.
What can I use instead on a long flight?
Nicotine gum, lozenges, pouches and patches can all be used airside and on board. Buy them before you travel.
How far apart are Terminal 2 and Terminal 3?
About a 15 to 20 minute walk. If you’ve arrived at the wrong terminal looking for the smoking area, allow for that before your check-in closes.