The new International Airport at Rio Hato will propel Panama faster towards becoming a world class destination as the area supports thousands of hotel rooms yet it is a couple of hours by bus from the Tocument International Airport presently used by most people visiting Panama.  I remember when I first visited Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and saw 5 aircraft sitting on the Tarmac and over 1,000 passengers had come in on charter flights for a week of fun in the sun.   This report from Don Winner at the Panama Guide

Maricella Martinez, the Director of Airports of Panama’s Civil Aviation Authority, said this morning during an interview on the channel 2 TVN morning news broadcast, that they are already in the process of preparing the statements of work, together with the Ministry of Public Works, in order to hold a public bidding process soon for the construction of the new International Airport in Río Hato, and that the contract will be let this year. This project to build the airport in Río Hato will have a total cost of about $70 million dollars. President Ricardo Martinelli said the need to build a tunnel under the runway raises the construction cost for the project, but that element does not make the project the most expensive option. The Director of Airports said Río Hato was chosen after Santiago, Divisa and Chitré were ruled out. She said Santiago was ruled out because in order to build a brand new international airport there, they would need 80 hectares of land, they would have to divert a river, and the proposed site was also too close to the Chicho Fábrega hospital. However, Martinez said they are working toward the goal of obtaining international status for all of the airports in Panama, and towards that end they will be investing $27.4 million dollars in other airports, and an additional $58.4 million dollars in Colon. (TVN Noticias)