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Tuesday, March 09 2010 @ 10:33 PM EST

Panama-Guide.com Top Level Category - Getting Around Panama

Transportation is a critical, especially for someone trying to find their way around a new place. Most people see Panama for the first time from the window of an airplane. After clearing immigration, collecting your luggage and passing through customs you emerge onto the curb and need - a ride. All of the articles in this section of the Panama-Guide.com website have "getting around" or some kind of transportation as a common thread. Here you will find articles on the joys of catching a taxi in Panama, colorfully painted Diablo Rojo buses, the passenger train that can take you from one ocean to another in about an hour, and more mundane challenges like finding a good mechanic for your Hummer. If you require additional information about this or any other category of information regarding the Republic of Panama please take advantage of our powerful in-house search engine. And if you still can't find what you're looking for try sending in a request for information. If you like what you see please consider recommending Panama-Guide.com to your friends. Our dedicated readers make us the #1 English Language Website about the Republic of Panama. Salud.
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Cessna Makes Mistake, Lands in Panama Instead of Costa Rica

Cars & Transportation BOGAMANÍ, Chiriqui - The Anti Drug Prosecutor inspected a Cessna small single engine aircraft with Costa Rican registration TI AUJ that landed unexpectedly on Thursday afternoon at a dirt strip of one of the banana plantations in Baru. The Anti Drug Prosecutor from the province of Chiriqui, Javier Soriano, said he could not give an interview or speak about the inspection they conducted. But he did say they did not do an ion scan of the aircraft and that they just conducted a visual inspection of the inside of the aircraft and they didn't find any suspicious items. Residents of the village said last Thursday afternoon a small plane flew overhead and then landed at the Bogamaní airport. They added that two people got out of the aircraft because there were two 4x4 vehicles waiting. The National Police cordoned off the area and later three Costa Rican citizens appeared together with one US national, who claimed they were the crew of the aircraft and that they landed there because they had made a mistake. The aircraft was guarded all night by agents of the National Police and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). (Source - La Prensa)Click Here To Read The Full Article (1 words)
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Tocumen Airport Is First in the Americas with New Departure Clearance Service

Cars & Transportation(Media-Newswire.com) - Annapolis, Maryland—Panama’s busy Tocumen International Airport has inaugurated a new data link departure clearance service provided by ARINC Incorporated. Designed to enhance air safety and Air Traffic Control in Latin America, the service was declared operational February 22. ARINC developed the service at the request of Panama’s civil aviation authority, Autoridad Aeronáutica Civil, with significant support from Copa Airlines, a leading Latin American carrier. Unlike air traffic control in North America, where airport tower controllers issue Pre-Departure Clearance ( PDC ) through airline central computers, in Latin America the airport tower controllers and pilots traditionally use voice radio. ARINC’s new solution offers the benefits of computerized departure clearance without the need to modify airline central computers. It allows pilots to request and receive departure clearance directly from tower controllers using standard data link. Copa Airlines, which operates one of Latin America’s most modern fleets, tested the system extensively over a period of months. Copa subsidiary AeroRepublica, and Iberia, KLM, and FedEx also were involved in the system tests. “This very successful implementation is the result of a cooperative technical interchange between ARINC and Autoridad Aeronáutica Civil,“ stated Ron Hawkins, ARINC Vice President, Commercial Aviation Solutions. “We applaud their foresight in initiating this project, and we congratulate them for becoming the first Civil Aeronautical Authority in Latin America to offer this valuable new service for aviation.” “ARINC’s departure clearance service will enable a new level of efficient flight management for air traffic controllers in Latin America,” said Licdo Rafael Bárcenas, Director General Autoridad Aeronáutica Civil. “We greatly appreciate ARINC’s cooperation in creating a simple, efficient, and low-cost solution which will enhance the level of safety in our airport operations for years to come.” Tocumen International Airport, located 15 miles from Panama City, Panama, is the largest airport in the country as well as the busiest in Central America. It is served by 18 airlines carrying 5 million passengers a year, and is Copa Airlines’ “Hub of the Americas.” Copa operates 152 daily flights from Tocumen to 45 destinations in 24 countries in North, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. ARINC Incorporated, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, provides communications, engineering and integration solutions for commercial, defense and government customers worldwide. Headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland with regional headquarters in London and Singapore, ARINC is ISO 9001:2008 certified.   
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Audits on Northern and Southern Corridors Complete

Cars & Transportation Once he returns from Mexico, President Ricardo Martinelli will hear about the results of the audits conducted on the Northern and Southern Corridors, and he will use that information to decide on their future. Ivan de Icaza, the Vice Minister of Public Works, said Tuesday the audit revealed "interesting elements for both good and bad," and that the President will make the decision. In August 2009, Martinelli said that some parts of the highways will return to government control shortly, because the companies charged with their administration and maintenance of these roads do not have sufficient resources to complete the projects to which they agreed when they signed the contracts. Following this, reconsiderations of this position have surfaced, because some officials have explained "there are technical construction considerations as well as economic," that are added to the complexities in the interpretation of the contracts. (Source: Telemetro Reporta)   
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ATTT Activating More Traffic Signals in Panama City

Cars & TransportationThis Friday Panama's Ground Transit and Transportation Authority (ATTT) will continue to activate more traffic signals at various intersections in the country. The traffic lights will be activated at the intersection of Via España - Calle 93 East (opposite the Global Bank of Parque Lefevre); Via España - Calle 97 East (near the Episcopal San Cristobal School) and Via España - 100th Street West (Monte Oscuro). Then on Saturday 20 Feb the following lights will be activated; España - 66th Street West (opposite the Church of Lourdes), and Ave Fernandez de Cordoba - 1st Ave (Rest. Pio Pio in Vista Hermosa). Yesterday the ATTT activated new traffic lights on Via Argentina where it intersects with 40th Avenue North A (the continuation of Via Veneto), 3rd Avenue North A (Einstein's Head) and Avenida Jose A. Fabrega (Banco General). (Source: Dia a Dia)

Editor's Comment: Don't you just love the Panamanian directions. If you say "3rd Avenue North A where it intersects with Via Argentina" no one knows what the hell you're talking about. But just say "Einstein's Head" and instantly everyone is zeroed in perfectly. Anyway, the ATTT is activating more lights all over the city, so keep your eyes open for new signals and traffic patterns.   

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145 Arrests Thanks To New Instant Verification Technology in Panama

Cars & TransportationDuring carnival this year the National Police made 145 arrests, mostly people who were wanted and who had outstanding arrest warrants for old cases. Police Commissioner Porfirio Justavino reported the statistics this morning on TVN Channel 2 news. This year the police used the newly acquired electronic verification system, a technology police officers on patrol can use to connect directly to an information center in the Department of Judicial Investigation (DIJ) to verify identification documents and to see if there are any wants or warrants on any person, almost instantly. Justavino said they were pleasantly surprised by the results, and the number of detentions have exceeded their expectations. Most of the people who were arrested had outstanding warrants, and they were out partying anyway, he added. (Source: La Prensa)

Editor's Comment: On Sunday as I was leaving church (no kidding) I got stopped in Balboa by a street cop who was standing on the corner near a traffic signal. I didn't see him standing there, and I was driving while talking on my cell phone (whoops.) He came walking over to the car, tapped on the window, asked "didn't you see me standing there?" asked for my licence, and told me to pull over. Within two minutes he had pulled up my information and that on my vehicle. Of course there were no wants or warrants pending against me, so (to my utter amazement) he just typed in a code, hit a button, and a little printer on his waist spit out my ticket for the infraction. There was almost no discussion whatsoever, no attempt to get a bribe, nothing like that. He handed me the ticket with my license, smiled, and said "have a nice day", just like that. Now, if I had been wanted for anything then he would have arrested me on the spot. And I have to tell you that was the most pleasant experience of getting a ticket that I've ever had in Panama. This new system is cool. Oh, and don't drive while talking on your cell phone. It's dangerous. Besides arresting 145 people, the police also issued more than 3,000 tickets during carnival thanks to this new system. One of those was mine.   

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Thousands Returning to Panama City After Carnival

Cars & Transportation Starting yesterday, thousands of people are returning to Panama City after almost 96 hours of fun, rest and visiting their relatives in the countryside. At the Transportation Terminal in Albrook the activity was notable. The baggage-laden travelers gradually incorporated into the normality of the capital, still submerged in the aftermath of the Carnival. Figures from the Ground Transit and Transportation Authority say that as of 5:00 pm on Tuesday, 131.222 vehicles had traveled into the interior and of those 83.540 vehicles had returned to Panama City. The death toll from accidents stood at eight, through last night. (Source: La Estrella)   
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More Than 120,000 Vehicles Left Panama City During Carnival

Cars & TransportationThis year 120.600 vehicles left Panama City and went into the the interior of the country as part of the Carnival celebrations, the ATTT told TVN Channel 2 news, or 1,371 more cars than last year. Of those 57,719 have already returned to the city. It was also learned that eight people have died in traffic accidents during Carnival. The agency spokesman said that a few drunk drivers have been detected. A large number of traffic control officers have been deployed to help speed the return of drivers to the city. The ATTT will keep working until Wednesday at noon. (Source: Panama America)    
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Traffic Congestion on Highway Towards Interior

Cars & Transportation Severe traffic congestion was recorded Saturday afternoon on the highway bewteen Arraiján and La Chorrera. Several drivers complained because they remained totally stopped for about 20 minutes on the road. Meanwhile, traffic police officers tried unsuccessfully to accelerate the pace of vehicles. The Emergency Operations Center (installed in Aguadulce, Cocle, for Carnival) reported that already about 60,000 vehicles had passed by the weigh station in La Chorrera headed toward the interior by noon today. Meanwhile, authorities have announced they will maintain security operations until Wednesday, 17 February. (Source: La Prensa)

Editor's Comment: I had to go up to the area of the beaches today to take some pictures. We left at about 11:00 am or so and the traffic was heavy but not impossible. We came back at about 3:00 pm and the traffic leaving the city had gotten a lot worse. Most of the people in Panama City had to work until 12:00 noon today before they were "sprung" for Carnival. There were two real choke points that I could see. The first was entering the city of Capira where the drop in speed caused a backup that stretched more than five miles. The second was caused by an accident. Thousands of people were stuck in their cars this afternoon, slowly inching toward their carnival destinations.   

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And Thus Begins the Carnival Exodus To The Interior of Panama

Cars & Transportation Benjamin Solis, Operations Manager of the Albrook bus terminal, said they are taking all appropriate security measures and giving as much guidance as possible to those citizens who who intend to travel to the interior of the country via bus, so that they can do so expeditiously and comfortably. Solis said his staff at the transportation terminal is continuing to work to provide services to the public on the various bus routs and other concerns they might have, and he added that there are National Police officers augmenting security. "This year we expect about 350,000 people will use the terminal to go to the interior of the country, so we encourage people to have a travel plan in order to avoid long lines to to buy tickets and to board buses," said Solis. According to Solis these security operations will continue during the four days of Carnival, and they expect the situation to worsen after next Tuesday when everyone is returning to the city from the interior, however they are in a state of fatigue and need more attention. The most visited provinces, according to Solis, are Los Santos, Herrera, Coclé, Veraguas and Chiriquí. (Source: La Estrella)   
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