Panama Tocumen Airport

Panama Tocumen airport is nearly finished with its renovation and is so much better looking compared to when I first flew into PTY 4 years ago. I was surprised of how fast they remodeled the airport and when I was there when it was in the middle stage of the remodeling it still was not complicated to go trough. There are many new popular stores there such as Tommy Hilfiger and many more known stores. The only problem with PTY is that the airport is begging to get to get over crowded in the morning hours. They should have made a second security/ immigration check point the line was so long for that the flight was delayed ten more minutes to wait for some passengers that were still in line at security. So if you are flying out try to leave around 12-4pm when there are not too many flights. All in all PTY is a great and easy airport to go trough.

To Dave Klassen's comment. ocumen International Airport is in its final stages of a makeover with an investment of over US$70 million this might generate some discomfort on travelers but soon it will be ready and new systems will be implemented to overcome any inconveniences passenger might have experienced . The US$20.00 exit tax to leave the country shall be included in your ticket. I would suggest you verify with your travel agent or airline to verify if this was double charged. As for weight in bags it is nothing new you will visit a country and depart with extra weight due to shopping wet clothes whatever it is it adds on weight. The airlines charge for the extra weight NOT the airport. Every space available in airports is rented and due to the traffic and volume of passengers retail space becomes expensive and this will increase every single item on airport shops (ex. can of pop) not only in Panama but also Toronto Miami New York etc.

Panama is taking shape bit by bit. It is convenient to fly through. As Andrew mentioned the $20 is already included in your ticket price so you don't need to pay again. Security checkpoints are good though grumpy sometimes. Not a serious matter. Arriving at the late hours at 9:30 and more is a headache as immigration and getting your luggage takes a long time. I've arrived in Panama before at 9:30 a.m. or so and immigration took me 5 minutes to clear! But of course bear in mind that all airlines from US and Europe have their landing slots allocated at that time! It's a zoo at night! Overall Tocumen is not all bad. Just choose the right time of the day to arrive and you'll be fine.

You very rarely need to pay the $20 departure tax anymore as it is included in most tickets now. The only exceptions may be on charter flights. The airport is under renovation and will be very nice once finished some slight inconveniences right not but nothing serious. I am sorry that one of the previous posters sees the need to equate buying a soda in a corner store as against buying one at an airport concession. (Actually sodas in the supermarket are 45 cents!!!) A $1.00 soda at a US airport will probably set you back over $3.00. All in all Panama is one of the better Central American airports and I fly regularly within the region.

This airport is very easy. Upon arrival on American Airlines it took us 20 minutes to go through customs and immigration. Once through immigration our luggage was available and out we went. The rental car companies are all right there in the airport and our experience with Hertz was first rate. They bring the car right up to the curb. Going home there are not a lot of dinning options. There are a few places down by the rental car place and one place once you are through security in the concourse. Prices are what you would expect in the US. There are several shops with liquor perfumes cloths and electronics. Getting through immigration to depart took about 10 minutes and this was at about 5 a.m. They did not charge us the $20 per person exit fee. This might have been dumb luck but we weren’t charged.

This is the worst airport we've been to. Arriving in Panama is good (other than the 1 hour + that it takes to get your luggage). Leaving is quite a different story. They make one last attempt to grab all of your remaining money. Starting with the $20 US tax to leave the country. Then they weigh your luggage anything over 40 kilos per couple you're charged $6 per kilo. I talked to 6 couples who said their luggage weighed in the 30's kilos in Toronto yet here it all weighed around the 43 kilo mark allowing them to grab an extra $15-$20 US. All 6 couples had the same luggage as when they arrived. All our souvenirs were in our carry-ons. We even left some of what we brought in the motel room for the maids. The prices in the airport were marked up by as much as 600%. One small example a can of pop was 30 cents in town at the airport it was as much as $2 US. I am not a smoker but for those that are was even more torture. They want everyone there 4 hrs before departure yet there is absolutely no smoking on the departure side of the airport - and you can't step outside the airport. This along with a 5 hr non-smoking flight. One person asked if there was no way possible he could smoke. They told him the only way was for him to go thru immigration back to the Panama side have a smoke and pass thru immigration again.

This nice small efficient airport. In need of a refurbishment but I understand that there's a programme in place to expand and modernize it's facilities. I've passed thru it several times and now unlike most Latin American airports the airport tax is included in the ticket price - no longer need to queue up and waste time in a government counter or worrying to have enough cash avail for it. The second floor before passport control is always empty and nice place to relax. Once you go airside it's a duty-free hell chock full of stores; place becomes hectic when all the flights from Copa land/depart since connecting people literally run from store to store scooping up all kinds of merchandise - supposedly it has the best bargains in the continent. Only caveats are the lack of food establishments or a decent news stand and too few seating areas in the transit part. Hopefully this will be solved with the expansion plans in place. Overall nice small user-friendly place.

This airport was quite a surprise. Arriving at 3 AM and getting through Panama immigration was the only negative point. On departure we found a very busy ground side concourse but check in on our Iberia flight to Miami was quite orderly and efficient. Don't forget to pay the $20 departure tax but there are airport staff cruising around making sure you've paid! Airside is where we found the big surprise - a shopping concourse to rival Heathrow's! You could buy just about anything there and at very competitive prices. A view of one of the runways completes the picture. One thing was bizarre though - aircraft taking off in opposite directions on the same runway depending on which end was closer!