Howard is looking to attract charter flights

July 13, 2010

La Prensa

The air terminal will have fuel storage tanks with a capacity of 30,000 gallons.

Howard airport administration will be focusing on the charter flight sector from 2011 onwards, once the terminal is ready to receive flights on a continuous basis.

Rosa Muñoz, director of the airport which is managed and operated by the Panama Pacifico Special Economic Area Agency, indicated that the passenger terminal will have the capacity to handle between four and five charter flights at any one time, together representing 1,500 passengers.

Howard airport is a feasible alternative for charter flights coming to Panama as most of the tourists that arrive on these planes are headed for the Pacific coast beaches, said Muñoz.

According to The Panama Tourist Authority, around 130 charter flights arrived last year, bringing a total of 61,162 tourists.

As well as receiving charter flights, the terminal will also represent an alternative to Marcos A. Gelabert, Albrook and Tocumen airports for flights that need refueling.

The storage tanks will have a capacity of 30,000 gallons of fuel and should be operational by the end of 2010.

“The runway at Albrook is very small and Tocumen handles a lot of traffic, so Howard would be a feasible alternative as a refueling stop”, Muñoz pointed out.

In her judgment, the project put forward by the Government to build an airport for the central provinces will be an additional benefit for commercial aviation in Panama, because it will not take traffic away from Howard, as the terminal will experience high demand when the companies that are establishing themselves in the old military base come into operation.