| Panamá Pacífico International Airport | |
| Iata: | BLB |
| Icao: | MPPA |
| Type: | Public |
| City-Served: | Panama City |
| Location: | Panama Pacifico, Veracruz, Arraiján, Panama |
| Elevation-F: | 52 |
| Metric-Elev: | yes |
| Coordinates: | 8.915°N -79.5994°W |
| Pushpin Map: | Panama |
| Pushpin Label: | BLB/MPPA |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Panama |
| R1-Number: | 18/36 |
| R1-Length-M: | 2590 |
| R1-Surface: | Asphalt |
| Metric-Rwy: | yes |
| Stat1-Header: | Total Passengers |
| Stat1-Data: | 259,491 |
| Stat-Year: | 2018 |
| Footnotes: | Source: WAD[1] GCM Google Maps[2] |
Panamá Pacífico International Airport is a commercial airport in Panama. It is located on the site of the former Howard Air Force Base, a United States Air Force base that was within the Panama Canal Zone.[3] Panama City can be reached by crossing the nearby Bridge of the Americas.
Commercial airline service started in 2014, with Viva Air Colombia being the first to begin operations to Bogotá and Medellin.[4] The airport receives regular Boeing 737 jet aircraft from Wingo.
The airport is southwest of Balboa, the port at the Pacific (southeastern) end of the Panama Canal. Most of the area around it is uninhabited and forms part of the Canal Zone watershed.
The runway has full instrument approach facilities.[5] The runway length does not include displaced thresholds on each end. There is high terrain just northwest of the runway.
The Taboga Island VOR-DME (Ident: TBG) is located 8nmi south-southeast of the airport. The Taboga Island non-directional beacon (Ident: TBG) is located 7.9nmi south-southeast of the airport. The Tocumen VOR-DME (Ident: TUM) is located 14.4nmi northeast of the airport.[6] [7] [8]
Panama benefited from the closure of the air base. Some of the former military base is used to house call centers for technology companies like Dell Computer.
In February 2008, the production for the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace used the base to double for an airport in Bolivia.
The Panamanian National Air Show takes place at the airport every year, usually on the last Sunday of January.
Wingo started flights to Colombia in June 2017. [9] VivaColombia ceased flying there in May 2018, citing high taxes for operating at the airport. [10]