Affordable Flights From Panama To Colombia

Air travel throughout Latin America can be very expensive compared to the rest of the world. I would love to be able to travel more but due to the high cost of airline tickets I haven’t seen much outside of Panama. I visited Medellin, Colombia last year and paid a whopping $415 round trip for a direct 1 hour and 15 minute flight from Panama. This was considered a good deal since flights are normally priced around $600.

Cheap Flights Are Finally A Reality

viva colombia, a low cost airline in Colombia, announced in January that they will begin direct flights from Panama to Medelln and Bogot¡. They have finally made bookings available and flights will begin on August 1, 2014.

The flights will take off from the Panama Pacifico airport (BLB) and land at the El Dorado Airport (BOG) in Bogot¡ and the José Mara C³rdova International Airport in Medelln.

I did a test booking on the Viva Colombia website to see what the cost would be and they are the first truly affordable flights I have seen out of Panama. To fly roundtrip from Panama to Medelln on August 15 – 18, 2014 is $260.92 and the same dates to Bogot¡ are $260.99.

Aire Panamá has also announced that they will begin offering direct flights to Medellin, Colombia on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays beginning on July 4. The flights will take off from the Albrook Airport and land at the Jose Maria Cordova International Airport in Medellin, Colombia.

However, Air Panama is definitely not a budget airline. They charge around $400 for the Costa Rica flight and $230 for a round trip flight to Bocas del Toro.

I tried to book a trip to Medelln on their website so I could find out what the cost is going to be but it’s not working at the moment. So then I sent them an email to get an estimate to fly from August 1 to 4, 2014 and it’s going to be $460.50! I am disappointed that they are charging that much because for around that amount of money I can fly on a direct 5 hour flight from Panama to New York.

*JUNE 18 UPDATE*

Air Panama’s website is finally letting people book flights to Medellin! They currently have a promo going on for the new route where flights are $243.20 round trip. They haven’t said how long the promotion is going on so be sure to book your flight soon!