Looking for a Tbilisi Airport smoking area? Tbilisi International (TBS) is a compact single-terminal airport, and the good news is that there are smoking rooms after security, so a departing or connecting passenger does not need to leave the secure area. The catch is that they are small booths clustered in one part of the gate area, and one of the reported options sits inside a bar, which matters more than you might think at an airport with so many overnight departures. This guide covers where they are and what to expect.
📋 Tbilisi Airport Smoking Policy
Landside, the rule is simple: smoking is only permitted in designated areas outside the terminal. Inside the building, the general public areas are non-smoking, and the only lawful places to light up are the designated smoking rooms in the airside departure area.
Georgia sits behind this. The country introduced one of the strictest tobacco laws in the region, and it changed the airport noticeably. Travellers who passed through before it took effect describe sitting in an airport café with a cigarette, and nobody minding if you smoked on the public seats nearby. That era is over. By 2021 visitors were reporting plainly that smoking in the airport cafés was no longer an option, while the separate booths remained.
💡 Good to Know
If you are working from an older guide or a friend's memory of Tbilisi, check the date. Advice from before the law changed described a far more relaxed airport where you could smoke at a café table. Current reality is a small number of enclosed booths, and smoking outside them can attract a fine.
📊 Where the Smoking Areas Are
Because Tbilisi is small, everything is within a short walk once you are airside. Here is what travellers have reported and when, so you can judge how current each one is.
Reported Locations
| Location | Type | Last reported |
|---|---|---|
| Inside the bar opposite the duty free shop | Smoking room | 2024 |
| Beside Gate 102 | Smoking room | 2024 |
| To the left of Gate 101 | Small booth | 2021 |
| To the right of Gate 103 | Small booth | 2021 |
| Outside the terminal, designated areas | Outdoor | Landside |
⭐ The Short Answer
Yes, you can smoke after security at Tbilisi Airport. Head for the gate 101 to 103 area, where the booths are, or to the bar opposite the duty free shop. Everything is close together in a terminal this size.
🎯 It Is All Around Gates 101 to 103
Look at the reports across the years and one thing is consistent: every airside booth anyone has described sits in the gate 101 to 103 stretch. A room beside Gate 102 has been mentioned repeatedly since 2018 and was confirmed again in 2024. Booths to the left of Gate 101 and the right of Gate 103 were reported in 2021.
For a small terminal that is entirely workable, and it makes finding one simple: get yourself to that part of the concourse and look for the signage. Reports use the phrase “at least” when counting them, so there may well be more than the ones listed here.
Beside Gate 102
The most consistently reported location, mentioned across multiple years and confirmed most recently in 2024.
Left of Gate 101
A small booth reported here in 2021. Worth checking if the Gate 102 room is busy.
Right of Gate 103
The third reported booth, also from 2021, at the other end of the same stretch.
🍸 The Smoking Room Inside the Bar
The most recent report, from 2024, describes a smoking room inside the bar opposite the duty free shop. Travellers have named it as Tickerdaze, though the landmark matters more than the name: look across from duty free.
This is a comfortable option, since you are in a bar rather than a sealed cabin. But there is a catch nobody mentions, and at Tbilisi it is a real one.
🕐 A Room in a Bar Keeps the Bar's Hours
Tbilisi handles a heavy concentration of late-night and very early-morning departures, which is normal for the region but unusual as a share of total traffic. If your flight leaves at three in the morning, a smoking room inside a bar is only useful if that bar is open. Treat the gate 101 to 103 booths as your reliable option on an overnight departure, and the bar as a bonus during the day.
🚪 Smoking Outside the Terminal
Before security, smoking is permitted in the designated areas outside the terminal building. Tbilisi is a compact airport, so these are close to the entrances and easy to reach whether you have just landed or have not yet checked in.
This is the option to use if you are meeting someone, waiting for a transfer into the city, or simply have time before check-in. It is also worth knowing that smoking outside a designated area, indoors or out, can attract a fine under Georgian law, so use the marked spots rather than improvising.
🔄 Smoking During a Layover at Tbilisi
Tbilisi has grown into a useful connecting point between Europe, Turkey, the Gulf and the wider region. The airside booths mean a connection here does not force you to choose between a cigarette and staying inside security.
Short Connection
Usually FineThe terminal is small and the booths are grouped together, so even a tight connection normally leaves room for a quick visit.
Go to the gate 101 to 103 area rather than looking for the bar.
A Few Hours
ComfortableTime to use the bar if it is open, eat something, and still get to your gate without rushing. Nothing here is far away.
Check whether the bar opposite duty free is open before walking over.
Overnight Departure
Plan DifferentlyTbilisi runs a lot of flights in the small hours. Concessions may be closed, which takes the bar option off the table.
Rely on the gate area booths, and smoke outside before you go through security.
💨 Can You Vape at Tbilisi Airport?
Assume not, anywhere in the general terminal. Georgia's tobacco legislation is broad, and the practical position at the airport is the same as for cigarettes: use a designated smoking room or the outdoor areas, not the concourse.
The reporting on Tbilisi covers tobacco rather than e-cigarettes specifically, so if you want certainty about a particular booth, ask a member of staff. Treating a vape exactly like a cigarette keeps you on the right side of it either way.
Not in the Terminal
Don't vape at gate seating, in cafés or in restrooms. The days of a relaxed café cigarette here are gone.
Rooms and Outdoors
The designated smoking rooms airside and the marked outdoor areas are where 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, Heated Tobacco and Hookah
Heated tobacco devices sit in the same bracket as cigarettes and vapes here: use them in a designated smoking room or outside, not in the general terminal. Georgia's tobacco rules were written broadly enough that assuming otherwise is a poor bet.
Hookah is worth mentioning because it is popular across the region and travellers sometimes ask. Georgia's indoor restrictions covered it too, so this is not something to look for at the airport.
📱 Smoking at Tbilisi Airport: Quick Overview
The summary for anyone travelling through TBS with cigarettes or an electronic device.
Allowed vs Not Allowed
✅ Allowed
- Smoking in the designated rooms around gates 101 to 103.
- Smoking in the room inside the bar opposite duty free.
- Smoking in the designated areas outside the terminal.
- Carrying devices in your cabin baggage.
- Nicotine pouches, gum and lozenges.
❌ Not Allowed
- Smoking in the airport cafés. This changed years ago.
- Smoking at gate seating or in the concourse.
- Smoking in restrooms.
- Vaping or heated tobacco in the general terminal.
- Packing vapes or spare batteries in checked bags.
💡 Tips for Smokers Travelling Through Tbilisi
Tbilisi is an easy airport to manage once you know where to look and when things are open.
Head for Gates 101 to 103
Every reported airside booth is in that stretch. Get there and look for the signage rather than wandering the terminal.
Overnight Flights Need a Plan
Many departures here are in the small hours. Don't count on the bar being open, and smoke outside before security.
Ignore Pre-2018 Advice
Older guides describe smoking at café tables here. Georgian law changed and that no longer applies.
Use Duty Free as a Landmark
The bar with the smoking room is opposite the duty free shop. The landmark is more reliable than the venue name.
Expect a Small Booth
These are compact enclosed cabins, not lounges. Plan a short visit and expect company at busy times.
Just Ask
In a terminal this size, staff can point you to the nearest open room in seconds. Quicker than any list.
⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid
🚨 Avoid These Mistakes
- Assuming you can still smoke at a café table because an old guide said so.
- Counting on the bar smoking room during a 3am departure.
- Smoking outside a designated area and risking a fine.
- Leaving the secure area when there are booths on your side of it.
- Vaping at the gate because nobody mentioned e-cigarettes.
- Packing your vape or spare batteries in checked baggage.
🏁 Before You Fly
Tbilisi International has smoking rooms after security, and in a terminal this compact they are easy to reach. Everything reported sits in the gate 101 to 103 stretch, with a further room inside the bar opposite the duty free shop. Two things to keep in mind: Georgian law ended the old café smoking that older guides still describe, so stick to the designated rooms, and if your flight leaves in the small hours, treat the gate area booths as your reliable option rather than counting on the bar being open.
