✈️ Panama City MPTO business jet movements up 23.8%, nearshoring capital driving traffic
Avi-Go data shows that Panama City's MPTO airport recorded 1,435 business jet movements from January 1 to July 9, 2026, up 23.8% (+276 movements) from 1,159 in the same period of 2025, with growth nearly double the increase at Guatemala City MGGT over the same period (+11.1%). By country of origin, Mexico with 212 movements and the US with 209 movements together accounted for about 68% of Top 10 traffic, with Mexico surpassing the US for the first time to take the lead, pointing to a migration of nearshoring capital and business travel toward Central American hubs. Monthly data show a March peak of 281 movements and April at 258 as seasonal highs, but May fell to 223 and June weakened further to 188 movements, with only 54 movements from July 1 to 9 (recent days' data may be incomplete).
Impact: MPTO is leveraging its position as a regional financial and logistics hub to attract dual-engine passenger sources from Mexico and the US, becoming one of the fastest-growing nodes in Central American business aviation; however, the risk of traffic decline after the peak season subsides in the second half of the year warrants caution.
Recommendation: Operators and FBOs serving Mexican and US corporate clients should finalize MPTO parking positions and ground service support before the end of Q3 2026 to seize the pre-peak-season positioning window; meanwhile, closely track monthly data from July to September to verify off-season customer stickiness before deciding on the pace of capacity deployment.