Panama Tocumen Airport

Not Verified | Poorly managed and designed airport. Had to return my car to terminal 1 (waste of time). Then had to take a shuttle bus to terminal 2 to get my boarding pass (waste of time). Then had to walk a half hour back to terminal 1 to catch my flight (waste of time). Then had to go through a second security check at the gate (waste of time). Bathrooms are poorly maintained no soap in soap dispenser. The "new" terminal 2 already looks like a mess. The food costs about half of what the average Panamanian make in a month. Food is a total rip off and of low quality.

Not Verified |  The food, drinks, snacks are wildly expensive for Panama, can’t take water (even bought right outside the boarding area) into the boarding seating area. If you do go into the boarding seating area you have to go through security again… if you need to use the bathroom you have to show your passport and go through a small security check again just to be able to board. In terminal 2 there are signs for water fountains in several places yet not a single one to be found. There is no free airport wifi either. The airport staff are rude and not helpful at all, everyone has an attitude, it’s very off-putting. I’ve tried to give Panama a second (even third) chance and it just disappoints every time. Will most certainly be avoiding this airport at all costs in the future and I would not recommend coming through here unless there is literally no other choice.

✅ Trip Verified | People at the gates (in both ways from the U.S and to the U.S) very disrespectful, rude, and intimidating. The airline staff confiscated my duty free alleging its another personal item and threatened me with not letting me board the plane. Even though other passengers offered to take my duty free for me, the personal on the ground (whether that's the Airlines personnel or Tocumen airport personnel) denied the offers by others to bring my duty free purchase. They also accused me of having an over-sized carry-on suitcase even though it fitted perfectly fine in the measurement box they have at the gate, and again threatened me with not letting me board the plane. Beware of the duty-free policies and be ready to be taken your purchases away from you. On my way back I had another terribly bad experience because I was finishing a bottle of water right before entering the custom check point at the gate. Even though I drank my water, deposited the bottle in the appropriate can, and spoke in a nice polite way to her, the security woman rudely yelled at me, hid her identity badge for me to not be able to capture her identity and one more time, another person in the security threatened me with not letting me board the plane when I took my I-phoneto take a photo of the first woman yelling at me (given that she hid her badge from me). I even pointed out to the cameras at the airport to make the point that her behavior was being captured by those. The personnel at Tocumen airpot are disrespectful to the passengers and it feels like they abuse their power. Other reviews here demonstrate this. Either the airport or the airlines personnel need serious customer service training. In the meantime, beware of bad treatment at this airport. I have booked my next flight with a different airline that doesn't connect in Panama to avoid any potential humiliation.

Not Verified | Really bad experience, security are rude, the food court only had 1 place open and the food looked so dry. Made us make a line to check out bags and documentation even though it had all been checked before since this is just a stop in my trip, you can buy water at the airport but when you are about to board the plane you cannot carry any liquids with you so they will rush you to drink it on the spot or throw it away. If you want to go to the bathroom after they checked you, you will have to get checked again with the scanners and everything.

Not Verified | We’ve passed through Panama City at least once a year for about 20 years and love the improvements you’ve made to the airport — lots more space, better food, and much cleaner, though healthy food choices would be much-appreciated. We were thrilled yesterday when we saw the Hanukkah menorah! Thank you!!! It made us feel extra welcome.

Not Verified | Although nice to have this new Copa exclusive terminal it is very limited in terms of good food (mostly fast and poor). It was completed around 6 months ago though there are flaws in the stores and what they offer. There is a gaping need for a pharmacy at any airport lest you need some cough mix Ute or forgot to fill a subscription. This is a serious issue as it could mean the difference between travellers feeling comfortable or sick on their flights. I wished for some cough mixture that is not asking the world of airport services. Nothing! I believe they have in terminal 1 though then I would choose another airline over the limited Copa offerings. As in my last review, I say rise to the possible need - in this case for a pharmacy - and figure out what are the priorities. The access to the airport is easy and they are reasonable about the drop-off area. I’ll continue to keep abreast of the upcoming changes.

✅ Trip Verified | The entire floor is very dirty, the security personnel have a very despotic attitude, the seats are very very uncomfortable. In short, a very bad experience at that airport and with Copa Airlines.

Not Verified | Having had several subpar experiences at the old terminal (T1), I was really looking forward to using the new terminal (T2) on this trip PTY-MDE-PTY. The outbound flight from PTY was a wonderful opportunity to experience it - the terminal is spacious, clean, modern and efficient - everything that the old terminal isn't. Everything worked well from check in to security, passport control and boarding and I was impressed. All Copa flights depart from the new terminal and everything functioned well. I should've cautioned my enthusiasm after my departure experience as I had no idea what awaited me on my return. On the MDE-PTY return for some odd reason that nobody could explain the Copa arrivals came into the old terminal, which struck me as odd. Why would you build a beautiful new terminal and not use it for all of your flights. Be that as it may, the flight arrived at the old terminal, and I went down to passport control and got through quickly but when I wound up in baggage claim to collect my bag I was astounded to hear that the Copa bags are all delivered to the new terminal. So there I was through passport control and in baggage claim and learned I was in the wrong place. I had to exit baggage claim, make my way to the new terminal via a severely under air-conditioned bus or walk in 30 degree heat and rain. I finally got to T2 but because the baggage claim area is secure, it was not possible to freely enter to collect my bag. Airport personnel insisted I solicit help from Copa to get me inside to get my bag. I spoke with about 6 different Copa employees and spent approximately 30 minutes gaining access. The Copa employees were helpful but not terribly sympathetic. They told me it was totally my fault (blame the customer) that I didn't know the bags were to be delivered and collected at T2 despite a T1 arrival. In my defence I heard no announcement on board, was sent no notification via email or text, was told nothing about this when I checked in for the flight, was given no piece of paper that explained this in Spanish or English, there were no Copa employees who met the plane at the old terminal to advise us to stay airside to go to T2 to collect our bags, and nobody in passport control or baggage claim to explain, no screens advising. In short there was no communication on behalf of the airline to assist passengers. Logically any passenger who arrives in one terminal would logically expect their bag to arrive in the same terminal. This logic was completely lost on all airport and airline personnel as I tried to collect my bag. I simply cannot understand nor accept that the airline and airport are not at fault by choosing to build a new terminal then not use it, force passengers to walk 1 km in the heat to collect their bags at another terminal and then implementing a a scheme that provides zero information about this to passengers at any stage in the process. It's absolutely shameful and disgraceful in every possible way. The old terminal is filthy, staffed by rude employees who don't care and barely functions. The new terminal is quite nice but leave it to PTY and Copa to figure out how to completely ruin the passenger experience by forcing passengers to go through this Orwellian process. I will not be returning to this airport again as a result of this and wouldn't recommend to anyone. If you do fly in on Copa to T1 make sure you know exactly where your bags will be arriving.

✅ Trip Verified | Worst airport I've ever been to - staff confiscated items on whim - checked suitcases ransacked frequently, with each occurrence resulting in damage from liquids not closed properly, locks removed and not returned, repacking resulting in crushed and broken items - outdated regulations applied, like requiring temperature checks for Canada, a year too late - 3 repeated security checks - cannot speak to passengers in boarding area - liquids bought in secure concourse confiscated before boarding - food is terrible and outrageously expensive, even for an airport. Dirty and very hot - badly designed, with outdoor walk to get to domestic terminal, where only a single vending machine is available - $50 for taxi, locals tell me they pay $10-15 for Truly nothing good to say about this awful place

✅ Trip Verified | They decided to build a gigantic new terminal with no restaurants, curbside or airside, except for one lone Starbucks and a few vending machines. Brilliant.