The measure was adopted and communicated this Friday, July 17, in the Official Gazette, which publishes a resolution signed by Gustavo Pérez and Gustado De León , director and deputy director of the Civil Aeronautical Authority (AAC) , respectively.

All humanitarian flights and those that transport equipment or supplies necessary to face the coronavirus pandemic are excepted.

Commercial and passenger flights have been banned since March 23, and were originally due to restart on May 23, but since then the AAC has successively extended the measure. The last ban was until July 23, but the authority extended it for an additional 30 days, from that date. That implies that flights could be resumed after August 21.

Last Wednesday, the Tocumen, SA international airport - which operates the country's main air terminal - announced that it will request the temporary suspension of the contracts of a "plural number of workers" by the Ministry of Labor and Labor Development (Mitradel) , for 30 days.

This prohibition entails changes in the schedule of the Panamanian flag line Copa Airlines, it had previously announced that on August 7 it would restart operations.

Air transport is included in the fourth block (out of a total of six) of the economic recovery plan. The first started on May 13 and the second on June 1. There is still no date for the reactivation of the other blocks.