Tocumen International Airport () is the primary international airport serving Panama City, the capital of Panama. The airport serves as the hub for Copa Airlines and is a regional hub to and from the Caribbean, South, North and Central America and additionally features routes to some European cities as well as cargo flights to Qatar.

History

After nine years, the original name was reestablished after the fall of the dictatorship of Panama by the U.S. invasion of 1989, when the airport was seized by 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers. The original runway (03L/21R) is mainly used for cargo and private flights, but also as a supplement to the primary runway during peak traffic periods. The main runway (03R/21L) is and is used primarily for commercial flights, the 03R direction is ILS Cat. I enabled. Until 31 May 2003, Tocumen International Airport was managed by the Civil Aeronautics Directorate (which is known today as the Civil Aeronautics Authority). On 1 June of that year, an innovative terminal management platform was created through Law No. 23 for 29 January 2003, which set out a regulatory framework for the management of airports and landing strips in Panama. This law allowed the creation of Aeropuerto Internacional de Tocumen, S.A., also referred to as Tocumen, S.A., which currently manages the terminal. This law is one of a number of laws that restructured the aeronautical sector in Panama to further its improvement and modernization.

In August 2015, it was announced that Emirates would operate flights to Tocumen International Airport from Dubai starting in February 2016, at which point it would have become the world's longest non-stop flight. In January 2016, the route was delayed due to a lack of economic opportunities for the flight. It has not yet been announced when the flight will begin regularly scheduled operations.

On 16 March 2023, the Aeropuerto metro station of the Panama Metro opened at the airport.

Expansion

In 2006, Tocumen S.A. started a major expansion and renovation program. The main passenger terminal was expanded at a cost of approximately US$21 million. New boarding gates were built to allow more flights to and from Panama, and to facilitate the growth of commercial and internal circulation areas. Tocumen Airport administration acquired 22 new boarding bridges and replaced the oldest 14. This included the addition of 6 remote positions, hence allowing Tocumen Airport to have a total of 28 boarding gates. The new installations were opened in 2006. The airport also has a VIP lounge, Copa Club, operated by the partnership between United Airlines and Copa Airlines that caters to Copa's partner airlines and Star Alliance members. It also had an Admirals Club for American Airlines, which closed on 30 June 2012. The Lounge Panama, a VIP airport lounge operated by Global Lounge Network started operations at Tocumen on 9 January 2019.

The renovation of the old Tocumen International Airport (originally built in 1947) to be used solely as a cargo terminal, was the last step of the modernization project of Tocumen International Airport. It included the redesign of the central building, the construction of new buildings for cargo companies among other improvements.

The South Terminal started a bidding process during the first half of 2012 and the contract was acquired by the Brazilian company Odebrecht. Tocumen S.A. made an investment of US$780 million, which included 20 additional gates. It included the construction of a new terminal, hundreds of parking spots, Tocumen river diversion, and four new direct-access lanes to the airport. The new terminal was officially inaugurated on 29 April 2019 and started operations on 22 June 2022.

Airlines and destinations The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Tocumen International Airport:

Statistics Annual traffic

+ Annual traffic Year Passengers Passengers using ICAO methodology (2015) % Change % Change using ICAO methodology values (2015) Cargo % Change Movements % Change 2003 2,145,489 11.5% 85,508 - 43,980 - 2004Tocumen Airport Report 2004 Website 2,398,443 11.8% 96,215 12.5% 45,703 3.9% 2005 2,756,948 15% 103,132 19.6% 47,873 4.6% 2006Tocumen Airport Report 2006 Website 3,215,423 16.6% 82,186 -20.3% 53,853 12.7% 2007Tocumen Airport Report 2007 Website 3,805,312 18.3% 82,463 0.3% 61,400 14.0% 2008Tocumen Airport Report 2008 Website 4,549,170 19.5% 86,588.8 4.8% 73,621 19.9% 2009Tocumen Airport Report 2009 Website 4,748,621 6,531,927 4.4% 83,513 -3.8% 80,330 9.1% 2010Tocumen Airport Report 2010 Website 5,042,410 7,005,031 6.2% 7.2% 98,565 18.0% 84,113 4.7% 2011 5,844,561 8,271,459 15.9% 18.1% 110,946 12.6% 93,710 11.4% 2012Tocumen Airport Report 2012 Website 6,962,608 10,174,870 19.1% 23.0% 116,332 4.9% 110,206 17.6% 2013Tocumen Airport Report 2013 Website 7,784,328 11,586,681 11.8% 13.9% 110,186 -5.3% 121,356 10.1% 2014 8,536,342 12,782,167 9.7% 10.3% 110,789 0.5% 135,406 11.5% 2015 8,913,501 13,434,673 4.4% 5.1% 96,902 -12.5% 141,642 4.6% 2016 14,741,937 9.7% 110,364 13.9% 145,245 2.54% 2017 15,616,065 5.9% 113,228 2.59% 145,914 0.46% 2018 16,242,679 4.01% 168,108 48.47% 148,556 1.81% 2019 16,582,601 2.09% 164,700 -2.03% 149,808 1% 2020 4,526,663 -72.70% 145,929 -11.40% 50,976 - 65.97% 2021 9,163,998 102.44% 202,743 38.93% 88,823 74.24% 2022 15,779,103 72.18% 234,945 15.88% 133,084 49.83% 2023 17,825,465 12.97% 208,573 -11.22% 143,034 7.48% 2024 19,250,384 7.99% 216,653 3.87% 152,813 6.84% 2025 20,981,855 9.0% 248,455 12.8% 166,448 8.2%

Busiest routes + Busiest international routes out of Tocumen International Airport (2024) Rank City Passengers Airlines 1 Bogotá, Colombia 1,043,274 Avianca, Copa Airlines 2 Miami, United States 792,170 American Airlines, Copa Airlines 3 Medellín, Colombia 730,314 Avianca, Copa Airlines 4 San José, Costa Rica 692,042 Avianca, Copa Airlines 5 Punta Cana, Dominican Republic 669,396 Copa Airlines 6 Lima, Peru 628,689 Copa Airlines 7 Cancún, Mexico 595,357 Copa Airlines 8 São Paulo, Brazil 562,495 Copa Airlines 9 Guayaquil, Ecuador 555,155 Copa Airlines 10 Santiago, Chile 549,006 Copa Airlines

Incidents and accidents On 4 August 1965, a Rutas Internacionales Peruanes SA (RIPSA), a Douglas DC-4 cargo flight, crashed after takeoff 2.5 mls NE of PTY because of faulty maintenance. All 7 occupants died. On 28 September 1979, a Transporte Aereo Boliviano (TAB) Lockheed C-130 Hercules crashed into the sea shortly after a night takeoff from PTY. All 4 occupants were killed. On 2 July 2004, an IAI Westwind operated by Air Tek crashed after takeoff and eventually came to rest inside an empty hangar. All 6 occupants were killed, along with an airport worker on the ground.

See also Transport in Panama List of airports in Panama

References

External links

Our Airports – Tocumen International Airport La Prensa de Panama Report 2015 Website