Panama’s Tocumen Airport has improved and grown enormously over the last several years with more to come. New terminals, flights and improvements have come fast. Just six or seven years ago, it took a long time to move through immigrations, baggage and customs in Panama and there were just a few cities outside of Latin America to fly from direct. Today, it’s almost unbelievably fast and there are so many more options.
Here’s the newest (from Wikipedia): “Terminal Sur was tendered in the first half of 2012 and the competition was won by the company Odebrecht. It is an investment of US$ 780 million, which includes 20 additional gates. It includes the construction of a third runway, a new terminal, hundreds of parking spots, Tocumen river diversion, and four new direct-access lanes to the airport. It will open in 2016”
It seems every few months there is another announcement of direct flights from new U.S., Canada and other major international cities. This month it’s Denver. Recent announcements include Ft. Lauderdale coming in July 2014.
Expect more direct flights to be announced as Panama’s importance as a global trade center, tourism and retirement destination continues to grow.