Direct flights to Panama from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport are once again under way as KLM Royal Dutch Airlines began its first flights to the isthmus last month.

Having suspended flights to Panama in 1998 after nearly 50 years of connections, KLM is now offering three weekly non-stop flights between Panama City and Amsterdam.

Passengers traveling to and from Europe can now take advantage of greater convenience of travel between the two major hubs, which is expected to greatly increase traffic across both regions.

The flights will use the McDonnell Douglas MD-11, carrying up to 294 passengers in the 12 hour trans-Atlantic flight.

The addition of the prominent European hub is also expected to markedly expand tourism to Latin America, in particular raising Panama’s profile as a significant tourist destination worldwide.

Panama’s growing prominence as a vacation and investment destination for Europeans has triggered speculation that Virgin Airlines is also considering direct flights from London’s Heathrow Airport, as representatives from the company were recently seen touring the Tocumen Airport facilities.

This would bring the number of trans-Atlantic connections to three, with Iberia Airlines also running direct flights from Madrid. The Spanish airline also announced earlier this month it would add a fourth, weekly flight to the roster.

With an average of more than 170 flights daily through the Tocumen International Airport, Panama is already considered the ‘hub of the Americas’, connecting North and South America largely through Copa Airlines, which has its base in Panama City.

Air accessibility has been a significant factor in the growth of Panama’s tourism and investment sector; the short three hour flight from the North American mainland has made Panama much sought-out by for vacationers, second-home buyers and real estate investors in the country’s booming economy.

Several international carriers such as Delta, Continental and American Airlines fly into Tocumen each week from major cities in the Americas, including New York, Miami, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Newark, and most major Central and South American destinations.

According to airport authorities, more than 3.8 million passengers moved through Tocumen Airport in 2007.

This is an increase of 18.3% over the previous year, and nearly double the number of passengers in 2003, which moved 2.15 million passengers in total.

The number of passenger flights also saw a sharp rise, passing 50,000 last year, up from just 36,000 in 2005.

In order to keep pace with the growing traffic, Panama’s government has recently invested some $85 million into renovating and expanding the Tocumen International Airport passenger and cargo facilities.

Begun in 2004, the renovations include a new passenger terminal building, expansion of the waiting, boarding and luggage-loading areas, and the addition of new restaurants and duty-free shops for passengers.

The massive overhaul will also see new equipment to service the airport, expanded office space, a new cargo terminal and passenger parking area, and improved airport security.