Copa Airlines and the PTY was the best experience we have ever had flying. The staff were incredibly nice, the food was excellent and the flight flawless and on time. We will travel Copa as much as we can from here on in.

In the past I flew from Buenos Aires to Houston, and there are always delays in airplanes. They want to fly you to other cities to make you reach your final destination. No matter how cute is the airport right now, the flights are always cancelled and the customer service is horrible.
Today 7/12/2012 my nephew and a friend (both 16 years old) are coming to Houston again from Buenos Aires, to save a couple of hundreds, they flew COPA, but it is costing a lot. Their flight has been delayed three times. They were going to fly at 1, then at 4, then at 6 and now they "think" they will departure at 8pm, but they are not sure. I think they should have fewer flights to book them complete, and don't play this game with their customers. An internal source explained they are trying to combine all flights to fill out a plane. WE will NEVER EVER EVER EVER fly with COPA again, NEVER EVER EVER. I hope it helps you with your decision next time to flight to Panama.

The PTY airport has come a very long way since the previous comments were written. There are now many, many food options as well as shops. I am giving 4 stars as the food is very expensive for Panamanian much less US pockets. Eg: one Cinnabon for more than $6.00. Many of the service providers speak a little English and are helpful.

I have used this airport both as tourist and resident, and I have been treated as bad in both situations (still 10 times better than United States of A airports). Always helps to speak Spanish as too many staff do not speak a second language. Those who do are usually very friendly on top of being useful - watch out for the grumpy ones (typical Panamanian uninterested service providers). Looking for info desk on your early morning or late night arrival? Go upstairs in front of the escalators, you can't miss it. Panama airport was not made for the tourist on a budget: there is no bus going from the airport gate to the city, then if there was any, you might not want to take it... You can share one of the specially authorized airport cab, which can be hard to arrange if your Spanish is rusty or non-existent. Very basic services are provided in the departure hall: toilets, 1 ATM, 1 souvenir shop, 1 expensive crappy restaurant. They do not want you to stay there for a long time. Get in, get out!

It is mind boggling how one of the most important airports in central America ignores the importance of books/newspapers and food outlets in the boarding area of the airport. Tocumen International Airport has ONE restaurant (Terra Firme), with very mediocre food, extremely long lines (since it's the only one available), poorly located (at one end of the terminal), and overpriced. This is actually outrageous. Why not set up a TGIF or even a MCDonald's? Yes, I get to the point that I wish there were a MCDonalds compared to the existing restaurant. The other source of outrage is the lack of a bookstore, or even a magazine retail store, it is unbelievable, never seen in any other airport in the world. Something is obviously being controlled, because I am positive that there is a huge demand for decent food, and for things to read before boarding on planes that increasingly have no food. Does anyone agree?