The GATEWAY to Panama: Incredible Plane Spotting at Panama City (PTY/MPTO)

Welcome to Panama City Tocumen International Airport; the busiest airport in Central America as well as being the global hub for Copa Airlines, the flag carrier of Panama! The airport is also a hub for Uniworld Air Cargo and their sole 727, plus DHL Cargo which uses PTY as a large hub for Latin American cargo traffic. The airport also ranks as the 8th busiest airport in Latin America. Aside from the endless Copa flights, Panama City also gets some classic aircraft like the MD80 and 727. Panama City can be very challenging for plane spotting as the main runway doesn’t offer great views and the spots are backlit for most of the day. A huge thanks to the airport authority for inviting me airside to spot the afternoon rush from right next to the runway! PTY is one of only 3 airports in Panama that offers regular scheduled international flights; the 2nd being BLB which also serves Panama City, and the 3rd being RIH which serves Rio Hato and is exclusively served by Sunwing and Air