Departure
96%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Tocumen International Airport (MPTO/PTY) is Panama's principal gateway, sited at Tocumen on the eastern fringe of Panama City, and serves as the hub for Copa Airlines and a major connecting point for Central and South American traffic. For a simulator pilot it offers two long, hard-surfaced runways, an ILS approach, and a rich slice of Panamanian aviation history, including its seizure by US paratroopers during the 1989 invasion.
Tocumen International Airport is the primary international airport serving Panama City, the capital of Panama, and functions as the hub for Copa Airlines as well as a regional connecting point for flights across the Caribbean, and North and South America. Its combination of a full ILS approach, two substantial runways and a long operational history makes it a useful and interesting destination for simulator pilots flying airliner or general aviation traffic into the region.
The airport lies at Tocumen in Panama Province, Panama, on the eastern side of the Panama City metropolitan area. Traffic in the area is worked by Panama's area and approach control services, with clearance delivery, ground and tower frequencies all published for the field.
Tocumen has two parallel hard-surfaced runways. The main runway, 03R/21L, is 10,015 feet long, lit, and equipped with an ILS on the 03R approach; it is used primarily for commercial traffic. The secondary runway, 03L/21R, is 7,851 feet long and also lit; this is the original runway, now used mainly for cargo and private flights and as a supplement to the main runway during periods of peak traffic.
Radio services at Tocumen include Panama Control on ACC frequencies 133.0 MHz and 133.3 MHz, Panama Approach on 119.7 MHz, Clearance Delivery on 129.8 MHz, Ground on 121.9 MHz, and Tower on 118.1 MHz. A VFR advisory service is also listed on 121.2 MHz. An ILS is available for the 03R approach to the main runway.
The airport traces its origins to a facility originally built in 1947, with the runway now numbered 03L/21R being the original strip. The airport's name was changed during the military government period but the original name was reestablished after the fall of the Panamanian dictatorship following the United States invasion of 1989, during which the airport was seized by the 82nd Airborne Division. Until 31 May 2003 the field was managed by the Civil Aeronautics Directorate, the forerunner of today's Civil Aeronautics Authority. From 2006 a major expansion and renovation programme was undertaken, including significant enlargement of the passenger terminal, and a new terminal was inaugurated in April 2019 and began operations in June 2022, with the old original terminal converted for cargo use as the final stage of the modernisation project.
Tocumen continues to operate as Panama's main international airport and the hub for Copa Airlines, handling scheduled traffic from a wide range of international carriers as well as cargo and private flights, much of the latter using the older 03L/21R runway. The airport underwent substantial modernisation with a new terminal completed in 2019 and brought into service in 2022.