Don't fly with Aires Airlines

If you happen to be neither Panamanian nor Colombian citizen and want to use their service between Panama City, Panama, and Cartagena, Colombia, be prepared to have an onward ticket. Aires is a small Colombian airline with mostly domestic service using small Dash 8 aircrafts. Their only two international destinations are Panama and Maracaibo in Venezuela, which was added recently.

Today we showed up on time to fly back to Panama City, our origin, and were refused boarding due to lack of an onward ticket. Arguing with their ground staff did not get us the boarding pass. They claimed each passenger who is not a legal resident of the destination country needs to have an onward ticket. According to them this were international law and each and every airline would work the same way.

So after a while we lost our patience and walked away to buy a one-way ticket from Copa Airlines, the largest Panamanian airline, without any questions asked. We got the boarding pass right away and everyone was very friendly and helpful.

Currently we are waiting here in the airport of Cartagena for the boarding process to commence. Apparently there is a free WiFi service, but I can't connect to it. So this post has to wait a few hours until we arrive in Panama City later today.

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Posted by Stephan Schwab on September 28, 2006 6:14:27 PM EST #


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Re: Don't fly with Aires Airlines

Comment from Anonymous on April 15, 2007 6:41:40 PM EST #
Does this apply flying one way from Panama to Columbia?
I was aware of the need for an onward ticket when entering Panama as this applys with overland border crossings too.
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Re: Don't fly with Aires Airlines

Comment from Stephan Schwab on April 15, 2007 6:57:43 PM EST #
We encountered that problem on the route Colombia to Panama with tickets purchased in Panama.
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Re: Don't fly with Aires Airlines

Comment from Phil on July 10, 2007 2:49:05 PM EST #
Don't blame the airline for doing what is indeed right! And they were probably far more polite than US officials would be if you were, say, an Argentine  passing through Miami with no visa and no onward ticket!
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Re: Don't fly with Aires Airlines

Comment from Stephan Schwab on July 10, 2007 2:56:44 PM EST #
The problem that got us upset was not so much the onward ticket issue, but the fact that they would have let me (German passport) fly and refused boarding for my wife of almost 10 years (Colombian passport). The Panamanian airline Copa did not have any problems with us flying back one-way into Panama. They gladly accepted our $600, while the Aires tickets had a value of $100 each and were round-trip. You may view this experience as well as another episode of money talks, although I certainly don't like it that way. Travel in todays world is not a pleasant experience anymore - anywhere you go.
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Re: Don't fly with Aires Airlines

Comment from Anonymous on November 12, 2007 4:24:31 PM EST #
Well, I was looking for something else, however read with interest the conversations to the issue. Indeed you were lucky. Let say you are German and want to fly to Columbia with a one way ticket you will hit hard concrete. Face it, these are the rules
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Re: Don't fly with Aires Airlines

Comment from Anonymous on October 23, 2007 6:33:07 AM EST #
That wasnt unspected, actually you were lucky with COPA too, is is worts than Aires, so who knows....maybe is every flight that has to do anything with Panama? maybe, I got stock in Cartagena 8 hours due to Panamanian airline/authorities unschedulle problems. But thanks for the tip.
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Re: Don't fly with Aires Airlines

Comment from Anonymous on December 1, 2007 9:37:29 AM EST #
THESE RULES ARE GENERALLY SET BY THE COUNTRY OF DESTINATION
i HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH HONDURAS FLYING TACA FROM MIAMI
MORE THAN ONCE ALSO WITH AMERICAN

THANK GOD I HAVE RESIDENCY IN PANAMA AS I WILL BR FLYING AIRES
TO COLUMBIA FROM PANAMA RETURN

eRNIE

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