- A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck southern Panama on October ninth, closing Tocumen International Airport for about two hours.
- Tocumen reopened after inspections found no damage preventing safe operations; eight Copa flights were diverted to Cartagena and Barranquilla.
- Authorities reported more than forty aftershocks and preliminary damage in several provinces, but no deaths or injuries by October tenth.
A 7.7 earthquake struck southern Panama at 12:56 p.m. local time on Friday, October 9, 2026, forcing Tocumen International Airport to suspend arrivals and departures. Copa Airlines’ main hub closed both runways as officials evacuated passengers and administrative personnel.
The airport resumed flights later that afternoon. Inspections found no damage that prevented safe operations, and the shutdown lasted approximately two hours.
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Crews examined the terminal, taxiways, runways and control tower before service restarted. The checks covered both passenger facilities and the airfield. The airport authority said it would seek a further infrastructure review by Panama’s National Civil Protection System, known as Sinaproc.
The quake’s reported magnitude varied in early accounts. Initial figures included 7.0, 7.6 and 8.0 before the U.S. Geological Survey recorded 7.7.
The quake’s epicenter lay southwest of Panama City
The epicenter was near Pitaloza Arriba in Panama’s Azuero region, roughly 200–239 kilometers southwest of Panama City. Reports placed the quake’s depth between 10 and 12.6 kilometers.
The changing early magnitude reports gave way to the U.S. Geological Survey’s 7.7 reading. The location and depth estimates also appeared as ranges, with the epicenter placed well southwest of the capital.
Diverted flights stretched the disruption beyond the closure
Panama’s Civil Aviation Authority directed affected international flights to alternate airports, including Cartagena and Barranquilla in Colombia. Eight Copa flights were listed as diverted to those cities, while additional aircraft went elsewhere.
Copa prioritized returning aircraft after the airport reopened and warned passengers about delays and schedule changes during the recovery. Immigration and customs personnel also returned to their posts as operations resumed.
The short closure sent aircraft bound for the airline’s Panama base across the region. Their return became part of the recovery after flights restarted. The airport authority’s planned infrastructure review remained a separate step from the inspections that cleared the way for operations to resume.
Tocumen handled nearly 21 million passengers in 2025. The airport connects traffic between North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, so the suspension affected a hub used for journeys across those regions.
Aftershocks and damage reports reached several provinces
More than 40 aftershocks were reported. Four measured 6.6, 6.1, 6.0 and 5.3.
Buildings were evacuated in Panama City’s former banking district, and workers moved into the streets. In Herrera, residents reported household objects knocked down by the shaking.
Preliminary reports described cracks and partial structural collapses in parts of Herrera, Azuero, Veraguas and Los Santos. Electricity provider Naturgy reported outages across six provinces. Authorities continued evaluating damage as those reports emerged.
The Panama Canal Authority said canal operations continued normally. The 40 ships waiting to cross faced no interruption to their transit.
A tsunami alert initially covered coastal areas of Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico. Authorities later lifted the alert.
Authorities were still assessing damage on Saturday
Preliminary assessments available by October 10, 2026, reported no deaths or injuries. Authorities continued evaluating damage, while the airport authority sought an additional review by Sinaproc.
