Panama Airport - PTY - The Way to Fly

Okay, well, for the most part, when living in Panama you have to get used to the fact that things aren't terribly efficient. Just a fact of life. But, one place in this city is the epitome of efficacy...and it's the last place one would expect - the airport! Yes, the one place where you can almost always expect things to run like clockwork or possibly even faster is PTY, the Panama City (Tocumen) international airport. I've flown in and out of many places in my short but well-traveled life and no airport functions with the efficiency of PTY... No, seriously, there's no sarcasm in this posting.

The other day, my husband and I disembarked, went through immigration, picked up our bags, and were through customs within a mere 20 minutes, ok, maybe 25. They have the process down to a science. Each time we go through, I ask myself how on earth this is possible. 20 minutes? In which major US airport would this be possible? And, mind you, Panama is the hub for most flights to/from other countries in Latin America. No small beans, my friends.

Boarding is almost as easy. I know you are supposed to be at the airport at least 2 hours early, but honestly, most of the time we are sitting in the waiting room within 30 minutes of our arrival to the airport. To be fair here, we do usually print out our tickets at home and use mainly carry-on luggage (but the carry-on has a tendency to expand on the way home either from clothing miraculously multiplying or horrendous re-packing). By the way, if you print out tickets at home, don't forget to ask for the required departure form once at the gate. I digress... Anyway, the point being, the security check point is also quite rapid. From taxi to gate in 30 minutes most days.

Net, flying to PTY is heavenly - especially after coming from Newark Int'l - that, however, would be a story for another blog, from which I will spare you.

Happy flying!