Tocumen International Airport
Encyclopedia
Tocumen International Airport is an international airport located 15 mi (24.1 km) from Panama City
, Panama
. In 2006, it underwent a major expansion and renovation program in order to modernize and improve its facilities. It is currently the only airport in Central America with two runways for use and is also the largest airport in the country and the busiest in Central America by passenger traffic.
, 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.
The first 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, which currently is being used as a cargo terminal, was built on an area of 720 ha (1,779.2 acre) and was 126 ft (38.4 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 installations 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 runway of the old airport is mainly used for cargo and private flights, but also as a supplement to the runway during peak traffic periods. The main runway is 3050 metre and is used primarily for commercial flights. 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.
, North America
and Central America
. Also, the Europe
an cities of Frankfurt
, Madrid
and Amsterdam
are served.
Tocumen International Airport is also the home airport of Copa Airlines
.
Reference
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 two vip lounges, one United Club for Copa Airlines and Continental Airlines, and a Admirals Club for American Airlines.
New equipment included: modern boarding gates and elevators, luggage conveyor belts, flight information system, and revamping the air conditioning system.
The new facilities are going to include platforms, taxiways and a new road which will connect both the cargo terminal and the airport's administration building.
Muelle Norte will be linked to the main passenger terminal and will have 10 moving walkways for passengers and 1400 m² (1,674.4 sq yd) for commercial areas.
The luggage sorting system will be expanded to accommodate increased demand. Also, one gate designed to accommodate A380 aircraft will be built.
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 Muelle Norte. The project started in mid-October 2009 and is projected to be completed in early 2011.
Capacity will increase from 5 million to 10 million passengers per year.
Panama City
Panama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
. In 2006, it underwent a major expansion and renovation program in order to modernize and improve its facilities. It is currently the only airport in Central America with two runways for use and is also the largest airport in the country and the busiest in Central America by passenger traffic.
History
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, 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
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
from foreign aggression. The 37th Pursuit Group
37th Training Wing
The 37th Training Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.The 37th TRW provides basic military, professional and technical skills, and English language training for the Air Force, other military services, government agencies, and...
at Albrook Field replaced the P-40 Warhawks of the 28th Pursuit Squadron
28th Test Squadron
The 28th Test and Evaluation Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit. Its current assignment is with the 53d Wing, based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.-Overview:...
at the Paitilla Point airbase from 9 December 1941 though 26 March 1942 in the immediate aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack.
The first 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, which currently is being used as a cargo terminal, was built on an area of 720 ha (1,779.2 acre) and was 126 ft (38.4 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 installations 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 runway of the old airport is mainly used for cargo and private flights, but also as a supplement to the runway during peak traffic periods. The main runway is 3050 metre and is used primarily for commercial flights. 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.
Air traffic
Tocumen Internation Airport is a regional hub for commercial flights heading to and from The Caribbean, South AmericaSouth America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. Also, the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an cities of Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
are served.
Tocumen International Airport is also the home airport of Copa Airlines
Copa Airlines
Compañía Panameña de Aviación, S.A., operating as Copa Airlines ', is an airline based in Panama City, Panama, and serves as Panama's flag carrier...
.
| 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% |
| Rank | City | Passengers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Bogota, ColombiaEl Dorado International Airport El Dorado International Airport is an international airport located in Bogotá, Colombia. It is the largest Latin America airport in terms of cargo movements with 593,946 tons and the third in terms of passenger traffic, only behind São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport and Mexico City's... |
412,893 |
| 2 |  Miami, FloridaMiami International Airport Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the South Florida area... |
379,891 |
| 3 |  San José de Costa RicaJuan Santamaría International Airport Juan Santamaría International Airport is located in Alajuela Province, about from downtown San José, Costa Rica. It is a hub airport for TACA/Lacsa, and focus city airport for Copa Airlines. It is named after Costa Rica's national hero Juan Santamaría, a courageous drummer boy who died in 1856... |
344,774 |
| 4 |  Caracas, VenezuelaSimón Bolívar International Airport (Venezuela) Simón Bolívar International Airport of Maiquetia is an international airport located in Maiquetía, Venezuela, about 13 miles from downtown Caracas.... |
229,267 |
| 5 |  Mexico City, MexicoMexico City International Airport Benito Juárez International Airport , in Venustiano Carranza, one of the sixteen boroughs into which Mexico's Federal District is divided, is a commercial airport that serves Mexico City, the capital of Mexico... |
197,054 |
| 6 |  Guatemala City, GuatemalaLa Aurora International Airport La Aurora International Airport serves Guatemala City, Guatemala. It is located south of Guatemala City's center and from Antigua. It is administered by the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil.... |
183,060 |
| 7 | Houston, Texas George Bush Intercontinental Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport, is a Class B international airport in Houston, Texas, serving the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Located north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and U.S. Highway 59... |
170,744 |
| 8 |  La Habana, CubaJosé Martí International Airport José Martí International Airport , sometimes known by its former name Rancho-Boyeros Airport, is located southwest of Havana, Cuba, and is a hub for Cubana de Aviación, Aerogaviota and Aero Caribbean, and former Latin American hub for Aeroflot Soviet Airlines... |
160,468 |
| 9 |  Santo Domingo, Dominican RepublicLas Américas International Airport -Cargo airlines:-Accidents and incidents:*On February 15, 1970, a Dominicana de Aviación DC-9 flying to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, crashed, killing all 102 persons on board .... |
158,209 |
| 10 | Medellin, Colombia José María Córdova International Airport José María Córdova International Airport is the main airport serving the Colombian city of Medellín and its surrounding metropolitan area. The airport is located about 30 minutes from the urban area by the new Las Palmas express way, in the municipality of Rionegro... |
136,637 |
| 11 |  Lima, PeruJorge Chávez International Airport Jorge Chávez International Airport , known as Aeropuerto Internacional Jorge Chávez in Spanish, is Peru's main international and domestic airport. It is located in Callao, 11 kilometers from the Historic Centre of Lima and 17 km from Miraflores. Callao is the port city now fully... |
131,836 |
| 12 |  Buenos Aires, ArgentinaMinistro Pistarini International Airport Ministro Pistarini International Airport , more commonly known as Ezeiza International Airport owing to its location within the Ezeiza Partido in the Greater Buenos Aires, is an international airport located south-southwest of Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina... |
126,419 |
| 13 | Atlanta, Georgia Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport , known locally as Atlanta Airport, Hartsfield Airport, and Hartsfield–Jackson, is located seven miles south of the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States... |
104,276 |
| 14 | Maracaibo, Venezuela La Chinita International Airport -Accidents and incidents:*On 1 November 1971, Vickers Viscount YV-C-AMZ of Linea Aeropostal Venezolana crashed shortly after take-off. All four people on board were killed.... |
104,045 |
| 15 | Newark, New Jersey Newark Liberty International Airport Newark Liberty International Airport , first named Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport within the city limits of both Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States... |
98,114 |
| 16 |  Quito, EcuadorMariscal Sucre International Airport Mariscal Sucre International Airport is the international airport serving Quito, the capital city of Ecuador. It is named after Venezuelan born Antonio José de Sucre, known as the "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" , a hero of Ecuadorian and Latin American independence... |
96,903 |
Reference
- Tocumen International Airport Website
- Tocumen Airport Report 2004 Website
- Tocumen Airport Report 2006 Website
- Tocumen Airport Report 2007 Website
- Tocumen Airport Report 2008 Website
- Tocumen Airport Report 2009 Website
- Tocumen Airport Report 2010 Website
Airlines and destinations
Main terminal
Cargo airlines
Passenger terminal expansion
The main passenger terminal was expanded 20830 m² (24,912.5 sq yd) 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.The airport also has two vip lounges, one United Club for Copa Airlines and Continental Airlines, and a Admirals Club for American Airlines.
Equipment
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.
Renovation in the cargo terminal
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.Muelle Norte
The second expansion phase of Tocumen International airport is known as Terminal Muelle Norte. At a cost of USD 60 million, a completely new terminal with 12 additional aircraft docking positions (gates) will be 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 are going to include platforms, taxiways and a new road which will connect both the cargo terminal and the airport's administration building.
Muelle Norte will be linked to the main passenger terminal and will have 10 moving walkways for passengers and 1400 m² (1,674.4 sq yd) for commercial areas.
The luggage sorting system will be expanded to accommodate increased demand. Also, one gate designed to accommodate A380 aircraft will be built.
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 Muelle Norte. The project started in mid-October 2009 and is projected to be completed in early 2011.
Capacity will increase from 5 million to 10 million passengers per year.