Panama Among Latin American Countries With Most Passenger Traffic

A total of 38.8 million passengers traveled by plane in the region in April, a growth of 7.4% in one year.  The monthly report of the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association indicates that, between January and April of this year, 159.56 million passengers traveled by plane in the region, an increase of 8.6% compared to the same period in 2023, when they totaled 146.94 million people. 

The largest volume of passengers transported in the first four months of the year was domestic, with 81.69 million people.  Of them, 18.28 million were intra-regional passengers and 59.59 million extra-regional passengers.  Regarding the markets with the greatest movement in April, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Panama are the countries that registered the most international passengers at their airports.   ALTA indicates that the extra-regional international segment, that is, outside Latin America and the Caribbean, grew by 8.3% to reach almost 14 million passengers in April alone, 1.06 million more than in the same month of 2023. 

The route with the highest passenger flow was Mexico-United States, with 3.3 million passengers in April.  Traffic between Brazil and Chile (+56%) and between Argentina and Brazil (+23%) stood out.  Traffic to Europe increased by 7%, with special mention to the Lima-Madrid route, which increased its frequencies by 30%. Additionally, traffic to and from Africa grew by 80% during this month.  “April was a positive month for air traffic in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region, with growth that continues to consolidate the trends observed in recent months. So far this year, we have seen a significant increase of 9%, with the air movement of 159.6 million passengers.  

These numbers are a powerful reflection of the essential role of air transport in the region, despite the challenges facing the industry,” says José Ricardo Botelho, executive director and CEO of ALTA.  In April 2024, the Latin American airlines union highlighted that Panama registered a 44% growth in domestic traffic, with 33,084 passengers.  Currently, three airlines operate domestic flights to that destination: Copa Airlines, Wingo and Air Panama.  The Enrique Malek International Airport in David moved 24,330 passengers in April, and a total of 103,012 between January and April.  Recent figures for May indicate that 21,847 passengers moved through that terminal, reaching a total of 124,859 in five months.