During the first eight months of 2013 5.1 million passengers transited through the main airport of Panama.
The number of passengers who travelled in that period is greater than the 4.5 million tourists who came through the air terminal in the same period in 2012, indicated by data supplied by the Department of Statistics at Tocumen International Airport.
During the first half of 2013 3.8 million passengers transited through the main airport of Panama.
Data provided by the Department of Statistics of the International Airport of Tocumen, reveals that during the first six months of 2013 the number of passengers passing though in a day was 20,807 while in the same period in 2012 it was 19,000.
Panamaamerica.com.pa reports: "Most passengers were from Miami, Bogota, San Jose and Caracas.
During the first quarter of 2013, 2.4 million passengers transited through the Tocumen International Airport, while in the same period last year the figure was 1.9 million.
For 2013 it has been estimated that about 7.5 million passengers will pass through the airport, up from 6.8 million in 2012.
"Once the South Terminal has been completed, Tocumen will be able to handle 15 million people a year", reported Prensa.com.
Panama International Airport is not only an airport terminal, but also a "Mall" where every passenger who travels spends an average of $50.
Last year, Tocumen International Airport reported movement of 5,844,561 passengers, who spent $290 million during their stay, the equivalent of $50 per person, according to data from the terminal’s management company, Tocumen, SA
It is expected that 14 million passengers will pass through Tocumen Airport in 2025, almost triple the amount of 2010.
According to several industry representatives, the main challenge will be the growth of airport infrastructure, which eventually will become a constraint for the sector.
Ofelia Barcenas, solutions manager for the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said the agency is working to streamline all processes related to passenger transit, such as migration and security. Some examples are the use of electronic tickets and collecting boarding passes using smartphones.