Air Panamá Internacional

Air Panamá Internacional
IATA ICAO Callsign
OP API ARPA[1]
Founded 1968
Ceased operations 1990
Hubs Tocumen International Airport
Company slogan Be On The Top (1970s)
The Best Awaits You (1980s)[2]
Parent company Iberia Airlines (until the late 1970s)
Headquarters Panama City, Panama

Air Panamá Internacional, also known as Air Panama International or just Air Panama, was a state owned airline from Panama that served as the flag carrier of the country between 1968 and 1989. From its hub at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, scheduled passenger flights to a number of destinations in the Americas was offered.

History

Air Panamá Internacional was founded in 1968 as a joint venture between the government of Panama (67 percent) and Spanish airline Iberia (33 percent). When Iberia pulled out approximately ten years later, the airline became fully state-owned.[3]

During the 1980s, when Panama was ruled by military dictator Manuel Noriega, the route network and aircraft fleet of Air Panamá Internacional went into decline because of the worsened financial and economic situation of the company, which led to Copa Airlines emerging as the largest airline of the country. All flight operations with Air Panamá Internacional ceased in December 1989 over the United States invasion of Panama. The only aircraft of the airline at that time, a Boeing 727, was damaged beyond repair in fighting actions. In January 1990, Air Panamá Internacional declared bankruptcy.

An attempt by the government of Panama to relaunch the airline in 1993 as Panama Air International failed.[4] In 2005, Turismo Aéreo acquired the Air Panama branding and adopted that name.

Fleet

Over the years, Air Panamá Internacional operated the following aircraft types:[3]

Destinations

During the 1970s and early 1980s, Air Panamá Internacional offered scheduled flights to the following destinations:[2]

Colombia
Ecuador
Guatemala
Mexico
Panama
Peru
United States
Venezuela

References

  1. ↑ "Air Panama International Fleet - Airfleets aviation". Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Air Panama Internacional". Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Air Panama International (ATDB)". Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  4. ↑ Panama Air International at the Aero Transport Data Bank
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