Landing at Tocumen International Airport

What PTY is like

Tocumen works as the connecting point for much of Central America and the north of South America, so a large share of the people walking through it are waiting a few hours for another flight rather than heading into town. There are two terminals, joined, and the walk between the far ends of them is a long one. Those who do go into Panama City find a skyline of towers along the bay that looks unlike most people's mental image of the region. Whether you are transiting or arriving changes what you need from a connection, and it is worth deciding which you are before you land.

On arrival

If you are only connecting, keep the line running while you wait, because updating a flight status and telling someone at the other end what time you will land are things you do sitting down, not after you have arrived. If you are entering the country, switch on as the aircraft descends and use the walk to immigration to order a car. That walk is long and branches in several places; the signage is clear but it does have to be read. The immigration queue can stretch when a wave of connecting flights lands together, which is the norm here rather than the exception.

How far the airport Wi-Fi gets you

The airport Wi-Fi sits behind a sign-in page and is leaned on by a great many transit passengers at the same time, which is why the speed is unpredictable when the terminal fills. If you have a long connection and intend to work or call home, relying on it alone means meeting the session cut-off partway through. For anyone hopping onward across the region, coverage that spans several countries usually saves more trouble than hunting for a hotspot in each terminal in turn. The Wi-Fi is a backup, not a plan.

Getting into town

The airport lies east of the city and the road is the practical way in, quick enough when it is clear and noticeably slower in the peak. Options are the organised taxi rank, a hotel shuttle, or an app car, which works in this city. Most people are heading either for the towers along the bay or for the old quarter that holds the tourist streets. Traffic here rearranges quickly, so the map recalculates often on the way in. If your plan involves the canal or onward travel out to the islands, expect the signal to thin once you are past the edge of the built-up area.

What people ask about this airport

• Transits need data too — Connecting passengers still need to update an arrival time and watch for a gate change, which is why waiting to get online at the destination is a poor plan.
• The walks are long — The two terminals connect, but the distance is further than expected, so on a short connection start walking straight away and follow the signage.
• Think regionally — Plenty of people passing through fly on to another country the same day, so coverage that works across several is the better fit for this route.