QCOSTARICA – Panama, on Monday, October 12, reopened its air borders to international flights with tourists, after keeping them closed for seven months due to the covid-19 pandemic.
The first flight to touch down was from Miami, U.S., with 157 passengers, including 38 tourists. They were greeted with Panamanian flags and typical dances at the Tocumen international airport, 15 kilometers northeast of Panama City.
“My boyfriend lives here, I haven’t been able to see him in a year. We had planned to travel in March but everything was closed, so it took us seven months to meet,” Californian tourist Chelsy told AFP.
“We booked the first flight we could because we have been waiting months for the borders to open and we are very excited,” Kate Davini, also a US tourist, told AFP.
Panama closed its air border on March 22, three days after Costa Rica.
“Today (Monday) Panama restarts its international operations taking a fundamental step for regional connectivity,” said the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) on its Twitter account.
Hoy Panamá reinicia sus operaciones internacionales dando un paso fundamental para la conectividad de América Latina y El Caribe✈️ pic.twitter.com/VWPMpfDyv8
— ALTA (@ALTA_aero) October 12, 2020
“It is a day of hope for Panama,” said Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo, who participated, at the Tocumen airport, in the christening ceremony of a COPA Airlines flight.
Momentos en que se marca un antes y después en el reinicio de las operaciones del Aeropuerto Internacional de Tocumen, con el bautizo y saludo al presidente de la República @NitoCortizo por parte de la aeronave 737-800 de @CopaAirlines en su suelo 127 con destino a Bolivia.🛫 pic.twitter.com/CIUc1zr5tt
— Aeropuerto Tocumen (@tocumenaero) October 12, 2020
The first flight from Europe arrived Monday afternoon, KLM flight from Amsterdam with 158 passengers.
Al Aeropuerto Internacional de Tocumen llegó esta tarde el primer vuelo de Europa en el reinicio de vuelos comerciales internacionales.🛬
Se trata de la aeronave B787-10 de @KLM procedente de Ámsterdam con 158 pasajeros y así fueron recibidos.✈👏#TocumenTeCuida♥️ pic.twitter.com/HySx3WFFcF
— Aeropuerto Tocumen (@tocumenaero) October 12, 2020
Until this Monday, Panama allowed the arrival of international flights in transit, but without allowing its passengers to enter the country.
Passengers entering Panama without a negative COVID-19 PCR test or antigen test result issued at most 48 hours before departure are subject to a COVID-19 test at the airport, at their own expense, with results in 30 minutes.
Testing positive for COVID-19, the passenger must comply with the biosecurity protocols decreed by the Ministry of Health, which includes mandatory isolation in a hospital hotel designated by the Ministry of Health. At seven (7) days will have an antigen test. If the result is positive, they must complete the fourteen (14) day isolation.
In the coming days, Tocumen will see 80 daily operations, compared to the 400 in March.
For now, daily flights will be to 36 destinations in America and Europe with 7 airlines, although three other airlines could restart operations before the end of the year.
With four million inhabitants, Panama has the highest number of infections in Central America by COVID-19, with more than 120,000 infected and 2,491 deaths.
