Panama has around 41 airports, but you’ll only ever care about six or seven of them. The rest are dirt strips and military fields that won’t show up in any booking engine. The real question isn’t “how many airports does Panama have” — it’s which one gets you closest to where you’re actually going, and how you get from the tarmac to your hotel without overpaying a taxi driver.
Most international visitors land at Tocumen (PTY) near Panama City. From there, your next move depends entirely on your destination: the surf cabins of Bocas del Toro, the coffee highlands of Boquete, or the postcard islands of San Blas all need different planes from different airports. Here’s how it actually breaks down.
Table of Contents
- The quick version
- Panama’s airports at a glance
- Tocumen International (PTY): the big one
- Albrook / Marcos A. Gelabert (PAC): the domestic hub
- Panama Pacífico (BLB): the budget gateway
- Enrique Malek (DAV): the gateway to Boquete
- Bocas del Toro (BOC): islands and surf
- Scarlett Martínez (RIH): the beach airport
- Which airport for which destination
- Getting from Tocumen into Panama City
The quick version
If you’re flying in from abroad, you’re landing at Tocumen (PTY), full stop — it handles the overwhelming majority of international traffic. For domestic hops to places like Bocas del Toro or David, you’ll usually shift over to Albrook (PAC) in Panama City, which is a separate airport across town. Panama has seven airports that handle international flights, but Tocumen is the only one most travelers ever touch.
The trap people fall into: booking a connection through Panama City without realizing PTY and Albrook are 40 minutes apart in traffic. If your itinerary has you arriving international and connecting domestic, build in real buffer time and budget for a cross-city transfer.
Panama’s airports at a glance
| Airport | IATA | City / Region | Type | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tocumen International | PTY | Panama City | International | Nearly all overseas arrivals, regional connections |
| Marcos A. Gelabert (Albrook) | PAC | Panama City | Domestic hub | Flights to Bocas, David, San Blas, Pedasí |
| Panama Pacífico | BLB | Panama City (west) | International | Budget carriers, some Wingo/charter routes |
| Enrique Malek | DAV | David, Chiriquí | Domestic + limited intl | Boquete, Volcán, western highlands |
| Bocas del Toro “Isla Colón” | BOC | Bocas del Toro | Domestic + limited intl | Caribbean islands, surf towns |
| Scarlett Martínez | RIH | Río Hato, Coclé | International (seasonal) | Pacific beach resorts, Playa Blanca |
| Captain J. Montenegro | CTD | Chitré, Azuero | Domestic | Azuero Peninsula, festivals |
Tocumen International (PTY): the big one
Tocumen is the hinge that the rest of the region swings on. Copa Airlines runs its entire hub here, and Copa’s whole business model is connecting the two American continents through a single point — which is why a flight from, say, Medellín to Cancún might route you through Panama. The airport connects to dozens of cities across the Americas, and the official tourism board leans hard on this connectivity as a selling point.
Two terminals operate here: the older Terminal 1 and the newer, glassy Terminal 2, which opened to expand capacity. They’re connected, but they’re a hike apart — if you’re connecting between them, don’t dawdle. Tocumen sits about 25 km east of downtown Panama City, so you’re not walking to your hotel.
What travelers should know: immigration lines can crawl at peak hours, and the airport’s duty-free is genuinely large (Panama treats Tocumen as a shopping destination, not just a transit point). There’s a Riu hotel attached if you draw a brutal red-eye connection.
Albrook / Marcos A. Gelabert (PAC): the domestic hub
This is the airport that confuses everyone. Albrook (officially Marcos A. Gelabert) sits right inside Panama City, next to the giant Albrook Mall and the bus terminal. It’s where almost every domestic flight in Panama departs — Air Panama runs the lion’s share of these short hops on small turboprops.
If your plan is “land at Tocumen, then fly to Bocas,” your domestic leg almost certainly leaves from here, not from PTY. The two airports are on opposite sides of the city. In Panama City traffic, that transfer can eat 40 minutes to over an hour, so a 90-minute connection window is asking for trouble. The upside: Albrook is small, walkable, and you can clear it in minutes once you’re inside.
Panama Pacífico (BLB): the budget gateway
Built on the former Howard Air Force Base on the Pacific side of the Canal, Panama Pacífico is the country’s secondary international option. It mostly handles budget and charter traffic — Wingo, Copa’s low-cost cousin, has used it for select routes. It’s quieter and less chaotic than Tocumen, but with far fewer connections.
You’d fly into BLB if a specific cheap fare lands you there. Just check where it actually is relative to your hotel, because it’s on the western side of the Canal, which means crossing the Bridge of the Americas to reach central Panama City.
Enrique Malek (DAV): the gateway to Boquete
David is the capital of Chiriquí province and the jumping-off point for the western highlands. If you’re heading to Boquete — the cool, misty coffee-and-hiking town that draws expats and birdwatchers — you fly into Enrique Malek (DAV), then drive about 40 minutes uphill.
Air Panama runs the PAC–DAV route as a quick domestic flight, and there have been seasonal international connections to Costa Rica as well. The alternative to flying is a long bus ride from Panama City that runs six to seven hours, so the 1-hour flight is worth it if your schedule is tight. Boquete itself sits high enough that you’ll want a light layer at night — the highlands run genuinely cool, a contrast most first-timers don’t expect from a tropical country.
Bocas del Toro (BOC): islands and surf
Isla Colón Airport sits right in Bocas Town on the main island, and the runway is so close to the water that the approach is half the fun. This is the Caribbean side — surf breaks, overwater bungalows, and a backpacker-meets-boutique scene spread across an archipelago.
Air Panama flies PAC–BOC daily, and the flight saves you from the brutal alternative: a long bus to Almirante followed by a water taxi. There have been periodic international links to San José, Costa Rica, but the domestic flight from Albrook is the reliable workhorse. Once you land, everything in Bocas moves by boat, so factor in a water taxi to reach the outer islands like Bastimentos or Carenero.
Scarlett Martínez (RIH): the beach airport
Out in Río Hato, in Coclé province, Scarlett Martínez International serves the strip of Pacific beach resorts — Playa Blanca, Buenaventura, and the all-inclusive cluster about two hours west of Panama City. It was upgraded specifically to let beach-bound tourists skip the capital entirely and land near the sand.
Service here is seasonal and route-dependent, leaning on charters and select international flights aimed at resort guests. If you booked a package to a Pacific beach resort, check whether your flight lands at RIH — it can save you the long ground transfer from Tocumen.
Which airport for which destination
This is the part most airport directories skip. Here’s the cheat sheet:
- Panama City, the Canal, Casco Viejo → Tocumen (PTY)
- Bocas del Toro / Caribbean islands → Albrook (PAC) to Bocas (BOC)
- Boquete, Volcán, coffee highlands → Albrook (PAC) to David (DAV)
- San Blas (Guna Yala) islands → small charter flights from Albrook (PAC) to airstrips like Achutupu and Playón Chico, or a 4×4-plus-boat combo overland
- Azuero Peninsula (Pedasí, Las Tablas) → Albrook (PAC) to Chitré (CTD), or drive
- Pacific beach resorts (Playa Blanca) → Río Hato (RIH) if a flight serves it, otherwise drive from PTY
San Blas deserves a flag: those flights are tiny aircraft on early-morning schedules with strict weight limits, and they’re not in standard booking engines. You arrange them through Air Panama or your lodge. It’s an adventure in itself.
Getting from Tocumen into Panama City
Once you’ve cleared immigration at PTY, you’ve got three realistic options to reach the city.
Official airport taxis have set zone-based rates posted at a desk inside — use that desk rather than negotiating with a driver curbside, and you’ll avoid the inflated tourist price. Expect a fare in the range of $30 for central Panama City, more if you’re going to a far neighborhood.
Rideshare (Uber operates in Panama) is usually cheaper, but the pickup logistics at Tocumen can be fiddly — you may need to walk to a designated zone, and drivers sometimes ask you to cancel and pay cash. It works, but it’s not always frictionless.
The cheapest route is the public bus and Metro combination, but with luggage after a long flight, most travelers skip it. The drive into downtown runs 20 to 40 minutes depending on traffic, which in Panama City can be brutal at rush hour.
One practical note: Panama uses the US dollar (officially the Balboa, pegged 1:1 and circulating alongside actual US bills), so you don’t need to hunt for a currency exchange at the airport. Grab cash from an ATM and you’re set.
Sorting out airports in Panama comes down to one decision tree: international travelers land at Tocumen, then most reroute through Albrook for the domestic flight that actually drops them near the beach, the mountains, or the islands. Nail that PTY-to-PAC distinction, leave real buffer time for the cross-city transfer, and the rest of your trip falls into place. Book the domestic leg early, especially for Bocas and San Blas, because those small planes fill fast.
