News

It’s easier than ever to make a connection between Europe and Panama these days. The number of flights between the continent and Panama has soared in recent years, as more airlines see Panama City as the key entry point to the region.

The number of routes between Europe and Panama grew 62 percent between 2013, and the number of passengers flying on those routes increased from 373,000 to 735,000, according to a new report in Martes Financiero.

To many, Europe is still an under-appreciated resource for tourists, business, and real estate investors. The government has only recently upgraded its tourism promotions, specifically targeting Europe. (See “Analysis: A New Beginning for Panama’s Tourism Market”)

There has also been a vast expansion in the cities served by the routes to Panama. In the past, most routes went through Paris-Madrid and Amsterdam; today more flights originate in Frankfurt and Istanbul.

“Panama hosts the headquarters of major European companies, plus it provides a platform to manage the business in the region,” the article notes.

One of the new players is Lufthansa, which has been flying directly to Panama for more than a year. “The first quarter [of 2017] has been very successful, with an average load factor much higher than the world average is 80 percent,” Felipe Bonifatti, general manager of Lufthansa for Central America and the Caribbean, told the publication. “This 2017 began very successfully with almost all flights full in January, typical of school holidays in several countries month.”

Traffic has also increased from Spain, Italy, and France, as the airlines increasingly use Panama City as the “hub of the Americas.”

Read the full article here.