VivaColombia may leave Panama Pacific for Tocumen

AIRPORT PANAMA Pacific, a possible future replacement for the Albrook, airport  could soon lose   a regular operator  if the airline VivaColombia fails to reach an agreement with Tocumen SA, a state entity that manages the terminal at the former Howard military base.

The company claims that its low cost bookings fell from 90% to 50%, due to increased airport tax that Tocumen applied  on August 15

With the increased payment for the use of facilities in Howard, the departure tax went from $15 to $34, an increase of 126%.

In addition, a charge of $1.25 was set for security, a situation that “affected the competitiveness of the company,” VivaColombia director Juan Emilio Posada told La Prensa.
The devaluation of the Colombian currency has also affected Colombians traveling abroad which is another challenge facing the airline, whose largest market is Colombian and which offers low cost flights between Panama and Colombia.

Given the fall in passenger bookings , the airline has started negotiations with Tocumen. Their goal is to achieve a downward adjustment of the tax, but if  an agreement is not reached, it would make the decision to move its operation to the Tocumen International Airport. which has more facilities and has no leaks like Panama Pacific.

The change would be effective in March 2016 and if load factors continue to decline the company has not ruled out reducing the number of frequencies to Panama..
Posada said the  Panama Pacific terminal has  few facilities compared to the Tocumen International Airport and Marcos A. Gelabert in  Albrook.
The departure tax at Tocumen  is $40, and in Albrook is $20.
Since VivaColombia  began flying to Panama it  has transported 165,000 passengers in its two daily routes to Panama Medellin and Bogota.
Joseph Fidanque III, manager of Tocumen SA, said they could not continue to subsidize the operation of the Panama Pacific terminal.
Given the possibility that the terminal is left without an airline, he said it would be for a short time, as there are plans to increase activity at Howard.