V-Flyer

Hi all,can anyone tell me if there is an outside smoking facility at the Lhr clubhouse?
Blacky

No, if you want to smoke you have to go back landside and outside the departures.

Thought that might be the case,clutching at straws really
Thanks Neil

And don't do it on the roof deck - you'll risk severe reprimanding and spoil that for others n( .

It is such a faff to get landside from the clubhouse it's best not to even bother - unless there's a big delay for example.

It is no longer possible to leave for a smoke, or not under normal circumstances anyway. Same applies at Gatwick.

getinjonathan wrote:It is no longer possible to leave for a smoke, or not under normal circumstances anyway. Same applies at Gatwick.

Yes it is, or it was, has something changed? It's circuitous and complicated, but it certainly was possible.

Is there any smoking area in Gatwick?

I tried to return airside from the CH a few months ago (via the rather convoluted walk/maze). Those who knew about this will know what I mean. Past the old Air India Lounge / transfer connections etc but I came to a dead end, or so I thought.

Reason being, where you used to leave the security are to walk and join up with arriving passengers appeared to be blocked off. Could have been a one off, or could still be like it now.

Either way, I didn’t bother in the end.

Why can't you smoke on the roof deck then?,sorry if this seems like a stupid question but I haven't been to the CH before but I can't understand why you can't smoke there.
Are there different rules once you get airside in Britain saying you can't smoke or is it a CH / virgin decision?

It is airside and right over the airport apron. You can almost chew the fuel vapour - it is quite overpowering. I would therefore assume that the fire risk of discarded cigarettes, matches and other flames must be VERY high, so I have always assumed that is why smoking is forbidden up there.

Nick

Makes sense I guess,maybe time to give up

Isn't it stoptober? Shouldn't be a problem then, should it

Nottingham Nick wrote:It is airside and right over the airport apron. You can almost chew the fuel vapour - it is quite overpowering. I would therefore assume that the fire risk of discarded cigarettes, matches and other flames must be VERY high, so I have always assumed that is why smoking is forbidden up there.

Nick

Wow can see the headlines now.... one cigarette could blow an airport up... that would get people to quit!!

Blacky1 wrote:Makes sense I guess,maybe time to give up

Ha ha maybe so. As caspaton says what about 'Stoptober'??

Lol,piece of cake I don't think! Last time I tried I seemed to have a lot of arguments with my wife ,kids,neighbours and colleagues .Not sure what was wrong with them all !

Funnily enough - 3 of the past 4 times I've been in the CH, an announcement has been made that someone has been smoking in the toilets.

WHY do people think that one rule applies to everyone else *apart* from them? Or that VS don't have smoke detectors? OR that a genuine fire alarm activation can ruin the holidays of hundreds of thousands of people in one go?

The first time, I actually saw the guy come out of the cubicle which STANK of smoke with a huge grin on his face like he'd "beaten the system".

5 minutes later, the staff were "chatting" with him on his way out...



Back to the OP - it IS possible to get landside once in, but I'd suggest if you're that desperate, you're better off holding back on going through security for a little longer and "stocking up" before heading in. It is a massive chore to get back once through to the lounge (The last time I did it was escorted by VS staff - and even that took 15 minutes!)

If I'd seen/caught somebody leaving a cubicle and it was 100% obvious they had been smoking, I'd have no hesitation in shopping them in. Not having one person ruin hundreds of holidays.

N.B As for the rooftop - there is CCTV so don't even think about it.

I really don't get the no smoking theme that is running through airports and so these days. I'm not a smoker anymore but I think a lot of European airports have got it right.
A little cubicle for those that want to smoke, no smoke gets out and no one gets a smell. Also I always seem to get a cold when I get off aircraft these days, is the air not filtered as much on board now?
As for the roof garden. I have seen plenty of people having a crafty one. I wouldn't dream of reporting them. Never seen anyone reprimanded for it either but that is just my experience.
I would however take offense if I spied someone having a craft one in the toilets. They make the clubhouse no-smoking for comfort of all the guests.
I do wonder how much extra business VS would get if they installed a smoking facility in the CH, say in the very overused(!!) library.

Also I always seem to get a cold when I get off aircraft these days, is the air not filtered as much on board now?

I don't know how true it is, but I heard that this is exactly the case, the filters on a/c are worse now they don't have to filter out smoke from cigarettes and this is part of the reason also that deep vein thrombosis has come to light so much recently also...could be bull of course, urban myth made up by smokers

Funnily enough - the glass walled area behind the bar *used* to be the "fumery" (or something like that) which WAS the smoking area.

It got decommissioned, from memory, in part because quite a few people were found smoking upstairs on the roof terrace where it's expressly noted that it's dangerous and not allowed.

Net result : no smoking anywhere, for anyone, in the CH. ("Better safe than sorry" and all that).

My *personal* opinion - GREAT. But I understand why that might cause distress for smokers who would otherwise be well behaved and courteous to others.

Nottingham Nick wrote:It is airside and right over the airport apron. You can almost chew the fuel vapour - it is quite overpowering. I would therefore assume that the fire risk of discarded cigarettes, matches and other flames must be VERY high, so I have always assumed that is why smoking is forbidden up there.

Nick

The sad thing is, you could put a lit cigarette on the ground, throw a bucket of av gas at it and the only thing that would happen is the cigarette would go out.

However, better safe than sorry, though I do now have an image of Rodney (Only Fools and Horses for you youngsters, go google it) flicking a smoke of the roof and watching a row of widebodies going up in smoke.

LovingGold wrote:I do wonder how much extra business VS would get if they installed a smoking facility in the CH, say in the very overused(!!) library.

Surely UK Smokefree law prevents this anyway?

LovingGold wrote:.
I do wonder how much extra business VS would get if they installed a smoking facility in the CH, say in the very overused(!!) library.

None because it cannot currently happen as it would be illegal.

Darren Wheeler wrote:

LovingGold wrote:.
I do wonder how much extra business VS would get if they installed a smoking facility in the CH, say in the very overused(!!) library.

None because it cannot currently happen as it would be illegal.

Not sure that is 100% correct. We have all seen some very enterprising ways to circumvent this law. Unused old bus, removal of windows to remove the third or forth wall and would EU law not trump that?? It seems to elsewhere !
Not that I'm in favor of it. Just was a thought running through my mind.
As my mind moves on.....Are there any smoking flights left in the world? The last one I was on was an AirNippon flight, that was a few years ago now.

For those who haven't seen it, this is the sign on the door to the roof garden. The area is also monitored by CCTV.

Scrooge wrote:

Nottingham Nick wrote:It is airside and right over the airport apron. You can almost chew the fuel vapour - it is quite overpowering. I would therefore assume that the fire risk of discarded cigarettes, matches and other flames must be VERY high, so I have always assumed that is why smoking is forbidden up there.

Nick

The sad thing is, you could put a lit cigarette on the ground, throw a bucket of av gas at it and the only thing that would happen is the cigarette would go out.

However, better safe than sorry, though I do now have an image of Rodney (Only Fools and Horses for you youngsters, go google it) flicking a smoke of the roof and watching a row of widebodies going up in smoke.

No sure there are many operators of of LHR that use avgas! Jet A1 maybe...

Which given you scenario would be even harder to light given it's flashpoint.

W.