Private jet to Panama

Panama sits on the isthmus between North and South America, and the canal makes its capital a centre for shipping, banking and trade, with the Colón Free Zone on the Caribbean side. Most private flights from Europe are short business trips to Panama City; the rest head for the islands of Bocas del Toro and the Pearl Islands, the beaches of the Pacific coast or the coffee highlands around Boquete.

From Western Europe the capital is 7,700-9,700 km away. A Gulfstream G650 reaches Tocumen without landing in 9:34-11:16 h from the hubs, Larnaca aside, and a Challenger 650 refuels once on the way. Every private and charter flight from abroad needs a landing permit from the civil aviation authority, AAC, but no airport in the country requires a slot. As a broker, we gather offers from European and North American operators and plan the permit together with the aircraft.

Send the destination, the dates and the name of the lead passenger in the form; the permit request carries it.

What a private jet changes on this route

Flight times and the crossing

Gate-to-gate in a Gulfstream G650 without landing, unless stated otherwise:

• Madrid - Tocumen: 9:34 h; London: 9:52 h
• Paris 10:07 h, Amsterdam 10:18 h, Geneva 10:26 h
• Nice 10:33 h, Hamburg 10:40 h, Milan 10:42 h
• Munich 10:53 h, Vienna 11:16 h
• London - David: 10:10 h, Zurich - David: 10:56 h; Madrid - Panamá Pacífico: 9:36 h
• Lisbon - Tocumen: 9:01 h in a Global 7500, the shortest crossing

The Gulfstream G550 takes about 20 minutes longer on each route, still without landing. With about an hour and a half allowed for the Challenger 650's fuel stop, the trip from the hubs takes 11:36-13:24 h. Westbound headwinds lengthen the sector, and the way home is shorter. After more than ten hours in the air the crew needs a long rest, so a quick return calls for a second crew or a day on the ground. Panama lies south of the main hurricane track, but from June to November storms over the Caribbean and the Atlantic can change the routing and the choice of fuel stop.

What a private jet to Panama costs

Each price buys the whole jet for a single direction, with the aircraft starting near the origin. The quote adds the AAC permit, handling, parking, the costs of a refuelling stop and passenger taxes. The time shown in a row is that of the heavy jet, stop included.

From the European hubs

The one-stop Challenger 650 starts at EUR 105,000 from London or Madrid. A non-stop Gulfstream G550 costs EUR 120,000 from Madrid and EUR 125,000 from London. David and Panamá Pacífico cost about the same as Tocumen. Larnaca is the exception: at 11,463 km all three types stop once, so the Challenger 650 at EUR 140,000 is the sensible choice.

From other European cities

From Lisbon, 7,669 km away, the Gulfstream G550 flies non-stop for EUR 115,000, the same as a Falcon 900EX with a stop, and from Dublin both cost EUR 120,000. From Copenhagen the gap widens: EUR 135,000 with a stop against EUR 140,000 non-stop.

From the Americas

Aircraft based in the Americas fly these international sectors. Each row is priced towards the airport on the right; the opposite direction is the same price:

A flight from New York needs at least a midsize jet; the Citation Latitude costs EUR 30,000. Bocas del Toro has a runway of about 1,500 m, so the Challenger 350 is not offered there. Each landing in Colombia, Costa Rica or the USA is a new international arrival with its own papers, and a passenger flying to Miami needs a US visa, or an ESTA when the operator belongs to the Visa Waiver Program. Between two US airports a foreign jet may carry only the passengers it brought from abroad or takes abroad, each leg with a permit to proceed; any guest who joins in the USA flies with a US operator. A flight from Panama to Mexico makes its first landing at Cozumel or Tapachula for inspection.

Departure taxes differ by European country. Milan sends the passenger off with Italy's EUR 200 per head, charged again on the way back; Vienna with EUR 12. The French tax on business jets is scaled by distance, so a Paris - Panama flight pays considerably more than the European figure. Every heavy and long-range type in these tables, at 20 t or more with fewer than 19 seats, falls into the higher band of UK Air Passenger Duty. Hamburg, Munich and Frankfurt pay the German departure tax, Amsterdam the Dutch one for aircraft from 5.7 t; Swedish airports charge nothing. Panama's own departure tax per passenger is in the quote.

Business jet price per flight hour

Heavy Jets from EUR 8,300 / hour

Light Jets from EUR 3,200 / hour

Ultra Long Range Jets from EUR 12,000 / hour

Super Midsize Jets from EUR 6,300 / hour

Very Light Jets from EUR 2,500 / hour

Long Range Jets from EUR 9,800 / hour

Midsize Jets from EUR 4,500 / hour

Turboprops from EUR 2,000 / hour

Three trips in numbers

The share per passenger

The price is for the aircraft, so it divides by the number of people on board; taxes are added per passenger:

Calculator

The calculator returns a first estimate by e-mail; name the Panamanian airport in the comment.

Airports for business aviation

The first landing from abroad must be at an airport of entry with customs and immigration, among them Tocumen, Albrook, Panamá Pacífico, David and Bocas del Toro. A jet from Europe normally arrives at Tocumen; the smaller fields are for regional flights and local operators.

Parking can be short at Tocumen and Albrook in the high season, and hangar space is arranged in advance. Refuelling requires the fire service beside the aircraft. On a technical stop where nobody leaves the aircraft, passports are not checked. A foreign aircraft that flies a domestic leg needs a separate permit, with paper copies sent to the authority six working days ahead, so hops to the islands and the highlands go to local operators.

Aircraft for Panama

Range decides the choice from Europe, not the number of seats. For more than ten hours a cabin with beds for every passenger counts, and ultra long range jets have the most room. Small aircraft only come into play on arrival, for the islands and the neighbours.

Rather discuss the stop and the non-stop option by phone? Leave a number for a call back.

When to fly: the Panamanian year

Temperatures hardly change, so the rain sets the calendar. The dry season in the capital and on the Pacific side runs from mid-December to April and is the busiest time; business trips to the city continue all year. The Caribbean coast is humid in every month, with a drier spell on Bocas del Toro in September and October. Empty Legs follow the one-way pattern of the route: a jet that brought a party out often flies home empty or goes on to Florida or Colombia.

From the airports into town and beyond

We book the car with the flight, and the driver waits at the terminal. Travel advice warns against the south of Darién province near the Colombian border, far from the airports used for these trips.

Empty Legs to and from Panama

Even an empty leg needs the AAC permit, so it cannot be bought at the last minute. Write to empty-legs@jets.flights with the direction and a window of a few days.

Bringing a dog or cat

With the operator's consent the animal travels next to you in the cabin and stays on board through the refuelling. For Panama you need:

• A zoosanitary certificate from the state veterinary service of the departure country, apostilled or legalised by the Panamanian consulate, valid for no more than 30 days.
• A vet's health certificate, also valid up to 30 days, confirming the examination and treatment against internal and external parasites.
• Rabies vaccination at least 30 days before travel, given from three months of age, with make, batch and date; dogs also against distemper, parvovirus, leptospirosis and hepatitis, cats against panleukopenia, calicivirus and rhinotracheitis.
• Notice to MIDA, the agriculture ministry, three to five working days before arrival. A MIDA vet checks the animal at Tocumen, and the authorities can require a period of isolation at home, which we confirm in writing for each animal.

Entry rules, permits and customs

Before departure

• Passports with enough validity and a blank page.
• Lead passenger's name and passport data at least a week ahead for the AAC permit.
• The online customs declaration, filed within 72 hours before landing.
• Return booking and proof of funds in case immigration asks.
• For a pet: certificates, MIDA notice and the antibody test result for the return.
• For an onward flight to the USA, a US visa or an ESTA for each passenger.

How to book

1. Send the destination in Panama, the dates, the number of passengers and the lead passenger's name, at least ten days before departure.
2. We compare a one-stop heavy jet with a non-stop long-range jet and choose Tocumen, Panamá Pacífico or David for the arrival.
3. After the contract and payment, the operator files the AAC permit; we book parking, handling, fuel for the return and any local flights.
4. Passport data go to the handler for the arrival cards, and you file the online customs declaration.
5. On landing you clear in the terminal with the handler and the car is waiting.

Questions about a private jet to Panama

• • How much does a private jet from Europe to Panama cost?

  • From EUR 105,000 one way from London or Madrid to Tocumen in a Challenger 650 with one stop, for the whole aircraft. A non-stop Gulfstream G550 costs EUR 125,000 from London.

• • Which airport do private jets use?

  • Tocumen, open 24 hours with two long runways, for flights from Europe. Albrook is five minutes from the centre but its 1,800 m runway suits regional flights; Panamá Pacífico and David are alternatives for other parts of the country.

• • Is an AAC permit required for a private flight?

  • Yes, from the AAC for every private and charter flight. The standard lead time is six working days, requests are processed Monday to Thursday, and no slots are needed.

• • Can we fly there without a stop?

  • Yes, in a long-range jet: about 9:52 h from London in a Gulfstream G650 and 9:34 h from Madrid. A Challenger 650 stops once for fuel.

• • Is a visa required?

  • No, for tourist stays of up to 90 days. Immigration may ask for a return booking and proof of funds, and every traveller files a customs declaration.

• • Can the jet take us to Bocas del Toro?

  • Not the long-range jet: the island has a 1,500 m runway and no fuel. A light jet or turboprop with a local operator flies there from the capital, or from San José in Costa Rica.

• • Can I bring my dog?

  • Yes, in the cabin, with an apostilled zoosanitary certificate and a vet certificate no older than 30 days, rabies vaccination at least 30 days before travel and notice to MIDA three to five working days ahead.

• • What is the time difference?

  • Panama has no summer time and stays on UTC-5: 5 hours behind London in winter, 6 hours in the British summer, one hour more from Central Europe.

• • Which season is best?

  • Mid-December to April, the dry season. Business trips to the capital work all year; in early November national holidays slow down permits.

• • Can we continue to Colombia or Costa Rica?

  • Yes. Cartagena - Albrook takes 1:09 h in a Citation CJ3 from EUR 9,000, and San José - David 0:52 h from EUR 8,000; each arrival needs its own entry formalities.

• • Are there Empty Legs to Panama?

  • Sometimes, mostly from Florida and the region and after the holidays; a transatlantic one is a matter of luck. Because of the permit they need a few days' notice; write to empty-legs@jets.flights.