Airport type Public Location Balboa, Panama 18/36 2,591 | Serves Panama Pacifico Elevation AMSL 16 m / 52 ft 2,591 8,501 | |
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Panama Pacifico International Airport, previously known as Howard Air Force Base (IATA: BLB, ICAO: MPHO), is an airport and former United States Air Force base located in Panama. Commercial airline service started in 2014, with VivaColombia being the first to begin operations.
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Overview
The airport is located 6 miles southwest of Balboa, at the southern (Pacific) end of the Panama Canal. Most of the area around it is uninhabited and forms part of the Panama Canal Zone watershed, although Panama City can be reached by crossing the nearby Bridge of the Americas.
The airport receives larger, jet aircraft, in the shape of Airbus A320 from VivaColombia Airlines and Boeing 737 from Wingo Airlines.
History
The government of Panama benefited from the closure of Howard Air Force Base. Much of the former military base is used to house call centers for technology companies, most notably Dell Computer.
In February 2008, the production for the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace used the base to double for an airport in Bolivia.
The former Howard Air Force Base is now called Panama Pacifico. The Panamanian National Air Show takes place at the airport every year, usually on the last Sunday of January.