Air traffic with the potential to contribute more than 15% to GDP

After an almost 100% recovery in 2023, the aviation industry faces new situations that require agility and correct decision-making, he warns Airline Association of Panama (ALAP).

“Air transport has the potential to contribute up to 15% or more to Panama’s gross domestic product (GDP) and could be among the country’s main economic drivers,” he showed Carlos Conde, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ALAP.

“Airlines understand the importance and role we represent and we are committed to creating value for the economy,” added Conde.

In this sense, the contribution of the Association is aimed at strengthening the communication links of the members with the various entities with which they interact, both public and private sector, as well as effective representation in relation to issues that may affect the business of airlines. Panama, he pointed.

In parallel with the new Management Board, ALAP strives to strengthen its role in strengthening tourism in the country, as the main link in the chain of services and activities.

Administrator of the Tourism Authority of Panama, Denise Guillén, he emphasized the importance of connectivity to attract international visitors and tourists to the country.

“We are working to attract new airlines, but also to increase the number of cities, destinations and frequencies that connect with Panama. All this results in attracting tourists, and it is clearly important that we end up with a total of 2.5 million visitors in 2023, and most of them entered via airports,” he said. He added that Panama is being promoted in markets such as the United States, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.’

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airlines, 15 cargo and 16 passenger airlines operated at Tocumen International Airport at the end of 2023.

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1,148 aircraft operations were recorded at regional and cargo terminals.

Meanwhile, heAirline Association of Panama (ALAP), who was recently sworn in to his new Board of Directors, reiterated his commitment to increasing ALAP’s presence and exposure as a union, as well as strengthening teamwork with various public and private sector bodies as well as various unions to promote the growth and development of the aviation industries and of tourism in Panama.

According to the latest data from World Tourism Council (WTTC), he Tocumen International Airport It is located as one of the three airport terminals that will carry the most passengers in the region in this first half of the year.

The WTTC projection estimates that the capacity of the Panamanian air terminal will increase by 13% to mobilize more than 5.5 million connecting or transit passengers in this first half of the year.

Tocumen International Airport set a passenger traffic record during 2023 by handling 17,825,465 million passengers, surpassing the historical high of 16,582,601 passengers registered in 2019.

Latin America is also estimated to experience a 12% increase in visitor arrivals during the first half of this year.

The new Board of Directors has representatives from airlines from Latin America, North America and Europe that maintain operations in Panama, and is chaired by Carlos Conde; María Eugenia Onofre, vice president; Adriana Fábrega, secretary, María Pilar Sima, treasurer; Claudia Oquero, prosecutor; María Luisa Navarro, member and Arif Tatoglu, member.

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