Draft bill 131.

Summary.

The draft bill establishes a fee for transit passengers who use facilities at the country’s international airports. Its purpose is to fund the maintenance, modernization, and operational improvement of those facilities. It defines a transit passenger as a person who arrives at Tocumen International Airport on an international flight and continues the journey on another aircraft without leaving the international transit area. It also defines the Transit Airport Facilities Use Fee (TUIAT) as the amount each passenger pays to use the facilities and describes the Civil Aviation Authority (Autoridad Aeronáutica Civil) as the entity responsible for overseeing and regulating civil aviation in Panama.

The fee would apply to transit passengers who use airport facilities at the country’s international airports. It would be US$10.00 per passenger. Children under 2 years of age, passengers with connections of no more than 1 hour, and passengers and crews on official or humanitarian flights would be exempt. The payment obligation is thus tied to the use of facilities during transit, subject to the exclusions expressly listed in the bill.

Airlines would collect the TUIAT from passengers when they purchase their tickets. They would have up to 30 days after each month to transfer the funds collected to the Panama Aeronautical Authority. The Aeronautical Authority would allocate 30% of the revenue to airport improvements and maintenance nationwide. Of the remaining 70%, the text allocates 50% to the Oncology Hospital Board, 25% to the Children’s Hospital Board, and the remaining 25% to the Santo Tomás Hospital Board.

The Aeronautical Authority would oversee payment and use of the TUIAT. Airlines that fail to collect or transfer the fee would be subject to penalties of up to 25% of the amount not transferred within the first 60 days and 50% once the established payment period has been exceeded. The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic would also oversee compliance with the proposed law and the transfer of funds according to the prescribed allocation. The draft bill provides that the proposed law would take effect immediately after its promulgation in the Official Gazette.

In substance, the proposal concerns the Civil Aviation Authority, the Panama Aeronautical Authority, the Aeronautical Authority, the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, the Children’s Hospital Board, and the Santo Tomás Hospital Board. It also concerns airlines, international transit passengers, airport operations, and the hospital services designated to receive the funds.