Omicron cuts Tocumen growth streak but higher movement ahead

The Omicron variant of the coronavirus (Covid-19) will cut the growth streak that had been reporting the monthly movement of passengers at the Tocumen International Airport after the cancellation of 160 flights in January due to the increase in positive cases of respiratory disease among pilots and cabin crew.

Tocumen can handle between 900 and 1,000 flights per month. In December 2021, for example, there were 977 flights. While in November of last year 1,073 were reported.

Raffoul Arab, manager of Tocumen SA, commented that the number of cancellations will increase as infections due to Ómicron increase.

“We have started a difficult year, but we hope that in the end, it will be positive, once this slump caused by Ómicron is overcome,” said the executive.

The administration estimates that for the month of February or March the airport will return to a higher movement of 1.2 million travelers per month.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has projected that the first quarter of 2022 will be more complicated than initially projected.

On the other hand, IATA described as “exaggerated” the reaction of many countries to the appearance of Omicron, since the application of restrictions on international travel proved in the past to have no effect in curbing the progress of the respiratory disease.

“If the experience of the last 22 months has shown anything, it is that there is little or no correlation between the introduction of travel restrictions and the prevention of virus transmission across borders. And these measures place a heavy burden on lives and livelihoods.

The first projections for 2022 suggest that this year the country’s main air terminal would recover 85% of the passenger movement that it registered in 2019 when 16.5 million travelers passed through Tocumen.

If this calculation is fulfilled, Tocumen would be mobilizing 14 million passengers, which would exceed the 9.1 million travelers reported until December 31, 2021.

“I don’t think that this year we will return to the numbers prior to the pandemic, but they will be better than those of 2021, although everything will depend on the behavior of the pandemic and the appearance of new variants,” Arab said.

“December and 2021 results generally exceed our initial projections; we maintained the confidence of airlines, we reconnected destinations and weekly frequencies, but the threat of Covid-19 suggests us to be cautious and disciplined in the administration”.

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