Birds close Tocumen runway,25 flights diverted

MIGRATING birds closed a runway at Panama’s Tocumen International Airport for over an hour on Monday, August 14.  Copa Airlines was forced to divert 25 flights during the closure from 9.50 a.m.  to 11.10 a.m.

The flights were affected on the South-West runway, used by Copa.  

Of the 25 flights, 21 were diverted to Panama-Pacific airport, three went to Barranquilla, and one to  David airport, Chiriquí.

Operations were normalized in the afternoon,  however, the entire flight schedule was delayed,

Earlier, the director of the Civil Aeronautical Authority, Alfredo Fonseca Mora, reported that there was an incident in which a bird hit an  incoming aeroplane from  an unamed airline, but did not cause damage and the plane landed safely.