Panama has one of Latin America’s strictest smoke-free laws, and Tocumen — Copa Airlines’ huge “Hub of the Americas” — is fully smoke-free with no designated smoking area anywhere. For a transit smoker on a Copa connection, that’s important to know in advance: there is genuinely no way to smoke without leaving the airport.
For international travel through Panama, Tocumen (PTY) is the airport that matters.
How Panamanian Airport Smoking Works
Panama’s Ley 13 de 2008 bans smoking in all enclosed public spaces with no designated-area exception, and Tocumen extends the ban to its outdoor areas:
- No smoking anywhere on airport property — not airside (Terminals 1 or 2), not landside
- The official airport states it is “100% smoke-free”
- E-cigarettes: the 2022 outright ban (Law 315) was ruled unconstitutional in 2024; Ministry of Health Resolution 146 of 2025 now regulates vapes and heated tobacco and prohibits their use in terminals and public transport
- Fines range from 10 to 100,000 balboas; enforcement is firm
The Hub
Tocumen International Airport (PTY). Copa Airlines’ “Hub of the Americas” (Terminals 1 and 2), a major Latin American connecting point. There is no smoking area on airport property at all. The only way to smoke is to fully exit the airport — and on a Copa connection that means clearing immigration both ways, which travellers report staff permit only on a layover of around six hours or more. Treat PTY as a “no smoking on this layover” airport.
Tips for Smokers at Panama’s Airports
- Tocumen is 100% smoke-free — there is no airside or landside smoking area
- On a typical 1–3 hour Copa connection, smoking is effectively impossible
- Even with a long layover, you’d clear immigration and security both ways to smoke outside
- Vaping in terminals is prohibited under Resolution 146 of 2025 — keep any device packed away
Panama Airports Compared: Indoor, Outdoor & After Security
| Airport | After security | Indoor room | Outdoor area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tocumen International Airport (PTY) | – | – | – |