March 15, 2020
Important travel news about travel in and out of Panama.
The most recent announcements are about traveling from Panama.
Entry From Anywhere Into Panama
As of tomorrow, March 16th at 11:59pm tourists won’t be allowed entry into Panama. It doesn’t matter where these folks are coming from.
Residents and citizens will still be able to enter Panama. However, they must self-isolate at home for 14 days.
If you are a resident, but your child is not, your minor child will still be allowed to enter. You can also enter if your residency application is in process. To qualify you must have already received an application number and a temporary residency ID.
Obviously, this is a temporary restriction. It was announced by a Presidential tweet. There is no word on how long these restrictions may be in place.
Entry From Europe & Asia
Yesterday, March 14, Panama cancelled all flights from Asia and Europe for 30 days.
The exception is for flights that transport doctors, medical equipment or other humanitarian aid.
Air China had already suspended flights to Panama earlier in February.
Flights From Panama
All flights to Europe and Asia from Panama have also been cancelled for 30 days. So far, there has not been any further restrictions on exiting the country. And I hope that continues, but it seems doubtful.
Live Flight Tracking
Travel situations are changing rapidly and without much warning. Thankfully, there is a very useful website, Flight Aware. This site provides real time global updates to flight cancellations and delays by airport.
Here is the link to Flight Aware, which I pre-populated to provide information on flights in and out of Tocumen Aiport (airport code PTY) out of Panama City.
Using that same link, you can also check for cancellations or delays into or from any airport. Simply enter the airport code
When I checked the site, there were 35 canceled flights out of PTY, and 5 delays. None of the cancelled flights were to the USA. But as I said, you should keep checking back for the most up-to-date status.
Daily Updates on Coronavirus and Panama
As everyone is aware, everything is changing quickly in response to the pandemic. To help keep you informed, I am updating daily the number of Panama Coronavirus cases in Panama as well as information on related bans and restrictions.
To read the most recent Coronavirus update, click here.
Hello, I would like to know why we were not able to return home to Panama on the afternoon of March 16th. We were in Florida to get documents in order to finalize our ‘residencia’. We had a flight from Florida to Panama with a plane transfer to Nassau in the Bahamas with Copa Airlines. Waiting in line for our check-in in Nassau (around 10:00 am), we are told that Panama is closed. We’ve been stranded on this island since then we don’t know when we’ll be able to get home. Someone may explain to me why in the announcement… Read more »