Looking for a Rome Airport smoking area? Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino (FCO) is one of the few large European airports where the honest answer is that there are several smoking areas airside, in both main terminals. Italy's indoor smoking law allows properly ventilated smoking rooms, so Rome has kept them. The catch is size: most are small sealed booths rather than lounges, although a larger one opened in the Gate A area in 2025. This guide covers where they are, what they are actually like, and the rules for vaping.
📋 Rome Fiumicino Smoking Policy
Italy banned smoking in enclosed public places back in 2005, well ahead of most of Europe. You cannot smoke anywhere in the general terminal areas at Fiumicino: check-in halls, concourses, gate seating, restaurants, shops or restrooms.
What makes Italy different from, say, Spain is that the law permits separate smoking rooms that meet strict ventilation and air-extraction requirements. That single exception is the reason Fiumicino still has smoking facilities inside the building while Barcelona and Madrid rely on open-air terraces. It also explains their shape: they are sealed, ventilated cabins with a capacity limit, not open sections of concourse.
💡 Good to Know
Fiumicino tends to score well with smokers on quantity rather than comfort. There are more locations here than at most European airports, but the classic FCO booth holds around six people, has ventilation and ashtrays, and often no seating at all. Set your expectations accordingly and it delivers.
📊 Where the Smoking Areas Are
Fiumicino has reorganised its gates and facilities more than once, so rather than present a single list as gospel, here are the locations travellers have confirmed and when they last reported them. The more recent the confirmation, the more you can rely on it.
Confirmed Locations by Report Date
| Location | Terminal | Last reported |
|---|---|---|
| Gate A area, just before Gates A1 to A3, opposite the gaming area | T1 | 2025 |
| Beside the British Airways lounge, plus small cubicles near gates 4 and 14 | T3 | 2023 |
| Booths beside Gate A5 | T1 | 2022 |
| Booth opposite Gate A3 | T1 | 2022 |
| Upper level, near the BA and Plaza Premium lounges | T1 | 2022 |
| No smoking area listed | T2 | Not listed |
⭐ The Short Answer
Yes, you can smoke after security at Rome Fiumicino. The most reliable option is the larger area in the Gate A part of Terminal 1. In Terminal 3, look near the British Airways lounge and around gates 4 and 14.
🆕 The New Gate A Area in Terminal 1
This is the most recent development and the one to head for. Travellers reported in 2025 that a new, noticeably larger smoking area had opened in the Gate A part of Terminal 1. To find it, follow signage for Gates A1, A2 and A3: it sits just before those gates, opposite the gaming area.
Its arrival matters because the long-standing complaint about Fiumicino was that the booths were cramped and you could not sit down. A purpose-built larger space suggests the airport has been addressing exactly that, which is worth knowing if your last visit left you unimpressed.
How to Find It
Follow directions for Gates A1, A2 and A3. The area sits immediately before those gates.
The Landmark
It is opposite the gaming area, which is the easiest visual reference in that part of the concourse.
Most Recent Report
Confirmed by travellers in 2025, making it the freshest information in this guide.
📦 What the Booths Are Actually Like
Worth being straight about this, because it is the thing most guides leave out. The traditional Fiumicino smoking facility is a sealed ventilated cabin, roughly four metres by one and a half, with a handful of ashtrays and a capacity of around six people. Some fit eight at a push.
Travellers consistently praise the signage and the ventilation. The recurring criticism is that you often cannot sit down, and at busy times they get crowded. One reviewer summed it up by noting that Fiumicino scores highly on how many there are rather than on how pleasant they are.
✅ What Works
- ✔ Several locations across both main terminals
- ✔ Well signposted and easy to find
- ✔ Proper ventilation and ashtrays
- ✔ All airside, so no second security check
- ✔ A larger area now open in the Gate A zone
⚠️ What to Expect
- Most are small booths, not lounges
- Often standing room only
- Capacity of roughly six people
- Can be crowded at peak times
- Reports suggest they have shrunk over the years
🗂️ Older Reports and Historical Locations
Search around and you will find long lists of Fiumicino smoking areas keyed to boarding areas B, C, D and E, with references to gates such as B20, C08, D02, D05, E14 and E38, plus smoking lounges on the mezzanine level. Those come from reports several years old.
They are useful as evidence that Fiumicino has historically provided a lot of these facilities, but treat them as history rather than directions. The airport has reorganised gates and rebuilt parts of both terminals since, and a booth that existed in 2019 may have been removed, moved or replaced. Navigate by current signage, not by an old gate number.
🙋 The Reliable Method
Once you are airside, look for the signposted smoking room symbol, or ask at an information desk. Staff deal with this question constantly and will point you to whichever facility is open in your part of the terminal today. Faster and more accurate than working from any list, including this one.
🚪 Smoking Outside the Terminals
Before security, Rome is about as relaxed as European airports get. Smoking areas are available throughout the airport landside, and travellers describe ashtrays essentially everywhere outside the terminal buildings, with non-smoking signs being the exception rather than the rule out there.
In practice that means a cigarette before check-in or straight after you land needs no planning at all. Just step outside, keep clear of the doorways, and use one of the ashtrays.
📢 Rules Could Tighten
Some Italian cities have begun introducing outdoor smoking restrictions, including minimum distances from other people in public spaces. Nothing of that kind currently changes the picture at Fiumicino, but it is a live policy area in Italy, so check before you travel if you are relying on the outdoor areas.
🏢 Which Terminal Are You In?
Fiumicino's terminal usage has changed over the years, so the first thing to establish is which one your flight uses. It appears on your boarding pass and on the departure screens.
Terminal 1
The best provision, including the newer larger area in the Gate A zone plus booths around A3 and A5.
Terminal 2
Nothing listed. Terminal usage at FCO has shifted over time, so confirm whether your flight uses it at all.
Terminal 3
Several areas after security and passport control: one beside the BA lounge and smaller cubicles near gates 4 and 14.
🔄 Smoking During a Layover at Rome
Fiumicino is a major hub for connections between Europe and the Americas, Africa and the Middle East, and the airside facilities make a layover here easy enough for smokers.
Under 90 Minutes
Usually FineWorkable, since the facilities are on your side of security. Allow for a possible queue at the booth if it is busy.
Use the nearest booth to your onward gate rather than crossing the terminal.
90 Min to 3 Hours
ComfortableEnough time to walk to the larger Gate A area if you are in T1, eat properly, and still reach your gate unhurried.
Stay airside. There is no reason to exit and be screened again.
Over 3 Hours
Plenty of TimeYou could go landside for the far more relaxed outdoor areas, or even into Rome if your documents allow it.
If you exit, allow for the return walk and a fresh security check.
💨 Can You Vape at Rome Fiumicino?
We have to be honest here: the reporting on Fiumicino covers tobacco thoroughly but does not set out a clear position on e-cigarettes and vaping devices. Italy's 2005 indoor smoking law was written before vaping existed, and practice varies between venues.
The safe approach is to treat a vape exactly like a cigarette. Do not use it in the concourses, at the gates, in restaurants or in restrooms. Use the smoking rooms or the outdoor areas, and ask a member of staff if you want certainty about a specific booth.
Not in the Terminal
Assume the non-smoking rule applies. Don't vape at gate seating, in shops, restaurants or restrooms.
Booths and Outdoors
The ventilated smoking rooms and the landside outdoor areas are the sensible places to use a device.
Carrying Your Vape
Devices and spare batteries must travel in your cabin baggage, never in checked luggage.
🧴 E-Liquid and Security
E-liquid counts as a liquid at the checkpoint. Containers must be no larger than 100 ml and fit inside a single transparent one-litre bag, exactly like your toiletries. Spare lithium batteries belong in your hand luggage, protected against short circuits.
🔥 IQOS and Heated Tobacco at FCO
Heated tobacco is a special case in Italy, because this is one of the markets where IQOS launched first and where it remains widely available. You will have no trouble buying consumables in Rome, unlike in the United States.
On where to use one, apply the same logic as for vaping: treat it as a cigarette, use a ventilated smoking room or an outdoor area, and do not assume the general terminal is fair game because the device does not produce conventional smoke.
📱 Smoking at Rome Fiumicino: Quick Overview
The summary for anyone travelling through FCO with cigarettes or an electronic device.
Allowed vs Not Allowed
✅ Allowed
- Smoking in the ventilated smoking rooms airside.
- Smoking in the Gate A area of Terminal 1.
- Smoking in the Terminal 3 areas after passport control.
- Smoking outside the terminals, where ashtrays are provided.
- Carrying devices in your cabin baggage.
- Nicotine pouches, gum and lozenges.
❌ Not Allowed
- Smoking anywhere in the general terminal areas.
- Smoking at gate seating, in shops or restaurants.
- Smoking in restrooms or corridors.
- Exceeding a booth's capacity or propping the door open.
- Packing vapes or spare batteries in checked bags.
- E-liquid over 100 ml through the checkpoint.
💡 Tips for Smokers Travelling Through Rome
Fiumicino rewards knowing what to expect. These are the habits that make it work.
Head for Gate A in T1
The newer, larger area is the most comfortable option and the most recently confirmed. Worth a short walk.
Trust Signage Over Lists
FCO has moved facilities around. Current signage beats any gate number you read online, including here.
Expect to Stand
Most booths have no seating and hold about six people. Plan a short visit rather than settling in.
Avoid the Boarding Rush
Booths fill up when several flights board at once. Go earlier in your wait rather than at the last minute.
Check FCO, Not Ciampino
Rome has two airports. This guide covers Fiumicino. Ciampino is a separate airport with its own arrangements.
Watch for Gate Changes
A change of gate can put you in a different boarding area, and with it a different nearest booth.
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
🚨 Avoid These Mistakes
- Navigating by gate numbers from an old online list instead of current signage.
- Expecting a comfortable lounge and finding a standing-room booth.
- Leaving the secure area when there is a booth on your side of it.
- Arriving at a booth as three flights start boarding.
- Reading a Fiumicino guide when you are actually flying from Ciampino.
- Packing your vape or spare batteries in checked baggage.
🏁 Before You Fly
Rome Fiumicino is one of the better large European airports for a smoker, thanks to an Italian law that permits properly ventilated indoor smoking rooms. There are several airside, and a newer larger area opened in the Gate A part of Terminal 1 in 2025, which is the one to aim for. Terminal 3 has areas near the British Airways lounge and around gates 4 and 14. Just set your expectations: most of the older facilities are small standing-only booths holding about six people. Navigate by signage rather than by gate numbers from older guides, and remember that outside the terminals, smoking in Rome is about as easy as it gets.
