11

Yesterday we landed after a trip from Panama to Spain departing from PTY airport. Today a friend that travelled to Panama 3 years ago has told me that he had to pay a 40 dollars tax when he leaved the airport. Also he said that he has an exit stamp in his passport. Of course, I've checked this with Mr. Google and I've found some sites that reports about this $40 tax.

I have no exit stamp from Panama and I haven't paid any tax when leaved. I assume that this is not going to have any consequences unless I try to enter again in Panama, but if I try to go into Panama again, will I have any problem? Is still this tax in effect? Do I need an exit stamp?

Ivan
  • 15,488
  • 15
  • 84
  • 162

1 Answers1

15

The $40 Airport Departure Tax is already included in most air tickets.

Years ago, each traveler paid the tax to a designated tax collector at the airport and got a stamp or ticket signifying they had paid the tax. This was actually pretty common at airports all over the world, but now most airlines collect the tax as part of the ticket price, then forward the money to the appropriate government.

If you can find the full fare breakdown for your ticket, you will likely see a number of different departure taxes and passenger service charges from governments and airports along your route.