Tocumen International Airport

Tocumen International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional de Tocumen
IATA: PTY ICAO: MPTO FAA LID: PTY
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Tocumen S.A.
Serves	Panama City
Location	Tocumen, Panama
Hub for	Copa Airlines
Elevation AMSL	41 m / 135 ft
Website	tocumenpanama.aero
Map
MPTO Location in Panama
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 03R/21L 3,050 10,007 Concrete 03L/21R 2,682 8,799 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Passengers 8,536,342
Source: DAFIF, STV

Tocumen International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional de Tocumen) (IATA: PTY, ICAO: MPTO) is the international airport of Panama City, the capital of Panama. The airport serves as the homebase for Copa Airlines and is a regional hub to and from The Caribbean, South, North and Central America and additionally features routes to some major European cities.

History

During World War II, Panamanian airports were leased exclusively by the U.S. military. The nearest airport to Tocumen was the Paitilla Point Airfield. Several airports were built to protect the Panama Canal from foreign aggression. The 37th Pursuit Group at Albrook Field replaced the P-40 Warhawks of the 28th Pursuit Squadron at the Paitilla Point airbase from 9 December 1941 though 26 March 1942 in the immediate aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack.

Tocumen International Airport was inaugurated on June 1, 1947 by President Enrique A. Jiménez, and airport operations began before the construction works were completed. The administrative building/passenger terminal was inaugurated seven years later, during the administration of Colonel Jose Antonio Remon Cantera. The old airport building, which currently is being used as a cargo terminal, was built on an area of 720 ha (1,800 acres) and was 126 ft (38 m) above sea level. As time passed, and due to Panama's role as a country of transit, that terminal became too small to attend to the growing demand for air operations. This compelled the aeronautical authorities at the time to consider expanding the airport. Work on the new buildings began in 1971.

In order to build the structure that currently houses the current passenger terminal, a lot of land had to be moved and the bed of the Tocumen river had to be diverted from its original site. The current passenger terminal was inaugurated on August 15, 1978 and operations began on September 5 of the same year. The Tocumen International Airport is one of the few airports in the region that has two landing runways able to serve the largest commercial aircraft operating today.

The name of the airport was changed in 1981 by the military government for Omar Torrijos International Airport, in honor to the Panamanian leader who died in July 31, 1981, at the age of 52 in a plane crash in Cerro Marta, Coclesito in very bad conditions. After nine years, the original name was reestablished after the fall of the dictatorship of Panama by the U.S. invasion of 1989. 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 3,050 m × 45 m (10,007 ft × 148 ft) and is used primarily for commercial flights, the 03R direction is ILS Cat. I enabled. Until May 31, 2003 Tocumen International Airport was managed by the Civil Aeronautics Directorate (which is known today as the Civil Aeronautics Authority). On June 1 of that year, an innovative terminal management platform was created through Law No. 23 of January 29, 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 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 economical opportunities for the flight. It has not yet been announced when the flight will begin regularly scheduled operations. It was planned to make the route between Tocumen International Airport and Dubai the longest flight in the world, until Emirates started flying between Dubai and Auckland.

During 2016 to 2017, Tocumen International Airport will undergo the completion of the airport's new South Terminal.

Expansion

Main building

Check-in hall

First phase

In 2006, Tocumen S.A. started a major expansion and renovation program. The main passenger terminal was expanded 20,830 m² (224,200 sq ft) 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 June 30, 2012.

The next step of the modernization project was the purchasing of new equipment to provide service and support to the common areas of the airport. New equipment included: modern boarding gates and elevators, luggage conveyor belts, flight information system, and revamping the air conditioning system.

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.

Second phase

The second expansion phase of Tocumen International airport is the Northern Terminal. At a cost of USD 60 million, a completely new terminal with 12 additional terminal gates was built. With these 12 new gates plus the existing 22 gates and the six remote aircraft docks, there will be a total of 40 gates. The new facilities include platforms, taxiways and a new road which connect both the cargo terminal and the airport's administration building. The Muelle Norte is linked to the main passenger terminal and have 10 moving walkways for passengers and 1,400 m² (15,000 sq ft) commercial areas. The luggage sorting system was expanded to accommodate increased demand. The tender for the design of the second phase was given to Ecuador-based Planman Cia Ltda. Colombia-based Aerotocumen won the tender of the construction of the North Terminal.

Third phase

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 includes 20 additional gates. It includes the construction of a new terminal, hundreds of parking spots, Tocumen river diversion, and four new direct-access lanes to the airport. The terminal will have gates able to accommodate the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 747 as well. It is expected for it to boost international traffic by attracting new airlines and increasing its operations. The new terminal is scheduled to open in 2017.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations
Aeroméxico	Mexico City
Aeropostal	Maracaibo (begins 3 October 2016)
Air Canada Rouge	Toronto–Pearson
Air France	Paris–Charles de Gaulle
American Airlines	Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami
American Eagle	Miami
Aruba Airlines	Aruba (suspended)
Avior Airlines	Barcelona (VE), Caracas, Maracaibo, Valencia (VE)
Avianca	Bogotá
Avianca Costa Rica	San José (CR)
Avianca Ecuador	Bogotá, Quito
Avianca El Salvador	San Salvador
Condor	Frankfurt
Conviasa	Caracas
Copa Airlines	Aruba, Asunción, Belize City, Belo Horizonte–Confins, Bogotá, Boston, Brasilia, Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Cancún, Caracas, Cartagena de Indias, Chicago–O'Hare, Chiclayo, Córdoba, Curaçao, David, Fort Lauderdale, Georgetown–Cheddi Jagan, Guadalajara, Guatemala City, Guayaquil, Havana, Holguín, Kingston–Norman Manley, Las Vegas, Liberia (CR), Lima, Los Angeles, Managua, Manaus, Maracaibo, Mexico City, Miami, Montego Bay, Monterrey, Montevideo, Montreal–Trudeau, Nassau, New Orleans, New York–JFK, Orlando, Port-au-Prince, Port of Spain, Porto Alegre, Punta Cana, Quito, Recife, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão, Rosario, San Francisco, San José (CR), San Juan, San Salvador, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz de la Sierra–Viru Viru, Santiago de Chile, Santo Domingo, São Paulo–Guarulhos, St. Maarten, Tampa, Tegucigalpa, Toronto–Pearson, Valencia (VE), Washington–Dulles
Copa Airlines Colombia	Barranquilla, Bogotá, Bucaramanga, Cali, Cartagena de Indias, Cúcuta, Guatemala City, Guayaquil, Medellín–JMC, Pereira, Punta Cana, Quito, San Andrés Island, San José (CR), San Pedro Sula, Santiago de los Caballeros
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta
Iberia	Madrid
KLM	Amsterdam
LASER Airlines	Caracas
Lufthansa operated by Lufthansa CityLine	Frankfurt
Plus Ultra Líneas Aéreas	Seasonal: Madrid
SBA Airlines	Caracas
Spirit Airlines	Fort Lauderdale
Turkish Airlines	Bogotá, Istanbul–Atatürk
United Airlines	Houston–Intercontinental, Newark
Venezolana	Caracas, Maracaibo

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
AeroSucre	Bogotá
Amerijet International	Miami
Avianca Cargo	Bogotá
Centurion Air Cargo	Miami
DHL Aviation operated by DHL Aero Expreso	Aruba, Curaçao, Guatemala City, Miami, San José de Costa Rica, San Juan
DHL de Guatemala	Guatemala City
LATAM Cargo Brasil	Fortaleza, Guayaquil, Manaus, Miami, Quito
LATAM Cargo Mexico	Guadalajara, Mexico City
Líneas Aéreas Suramericanas	Bogotá
Transportes Aéreos Bolivianos	Miami, Santa Cruz de la Sierra-Viru Viru
UPS Airlines	Louisville
Vensecar Internacional	Caracas

Statistics

Annual traffic

Copa Airlines aircraft at Tocumen International Airport

Copa Airlines Boeing 737-800 at Tocumen International Airport

KLM McDonnell Douglas MD-11 at Tocumen International Airport

An Iberia Airbus A340-600 aircraft landing at Tocumen International Airport from Barajas.

Annual traffic

Year	Passengers	% Change	Cargo	% Change	Movements	% Change
2003	2,145,489	11.5%	85,508	-	43,980	-
2004	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%
2006	3,215,423	16.6%	82,186	-20.3%	53,853	12.7%
2007	3,805,312	18.3%	82,463	0.3%	61,400	14.0%
2008	4,549,170	19.5%	86,588.8	4.8%	73,621	19.9%
2009	4,748,621	4.4%	83,513	-3.8%	80,330	9.1%
2010	5,042,410	6.2%	98,565	18.0%	84,113	4.7%
2011	5,844,561	15.9%	110,946	12.6%	93,710	11.4%
2012	6,962,608	19.1%	116,332	4.9%	110,206	17.6%
2013	7,784,328	11.8%	110,186	-5.3%	121,356	10.1%
2014	8,536,342	9.7%	110,789	0.5%	135,406	11.5%

Busiest routes

Busiest international routes out of Tocumen International Airport (2014)

Rank	City	Passengers	Airlines
1	Bogotá, Colombia	583,689	Copa, Copa Colombia
2	Miami, Florida	536,111	American, Copa
3	San José de Costa Rica	424,329	Copa, Copa Colombia
4	Caracas, Venezuela	306,885	Copa, SBA
5	Havana, Cuba	273,488	Copa
6	Mexico City, Mexico	260,868	Copa, Aeroméxico
7	Lima, Peru	244,647	Copa
8	Medellín, Colombia	228,532	Copa, Copa Colombia
9	Houston, Texas	202,313	United
10	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic	192,974	Condor, Copa
11	Madrid, Spain	149,332	Iberia
12	Buenos Aires, Argentina	135,344	Copa
13	Guatemala City, Guatemala	127,490	Copa, Copa Colombia
14	São Paulo, Brazil	126,568	Copa
15	Orlando, Florida	118,790	Copa
16	Newark, New Jersey	111,731	United
17	Guayaquil, Ecuador	107,841	Copa, TAME
18	San Salvador, El Salvador	106,104	Avianca, Copa
19	Santiago de Chile, Chile	103,014	Copa
20	Quito, Ecuador	98,651	Copa, TAME

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

External links

Media related to Tocumen International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• La Prensa de Panama Report 2015 Website