First 15 minutes at PTY’s Short-Term Parking are free
Short-Term Parking sits directly in front of Tocumen’s T1 and T2, so you walk from your car to check-in in roughly 3–7 minutes, depending on your airline. It’s the official airport lot, paved, signed in Spanish and English, and open 24/7 alongside the terminal operations.
Rates are charged by the hour, with billing starting after that free 15‑minute window; this lot is priced for drop-offs, pick-ups, and same‑day visits, not multi-day trips. Payment machines in front of T1 and T2 take cash (USD) and major cards, and you scan your ticket at the exit barrier on your way out.
Short-Term Parking is on the terminal side of the main airport access road, closer than the long-term options across the way, so it usually beats circling the departures lanes. For quick pick-ups, you can park, walk into Arrivals at T1 or T2, and be back at your car in under 20 minutes if bags come out on time.
Security cameras cover the lanes and pedestrian paths, and lighting runs across all rows through the night. Because this is the closest official lot, spaces nearest the T1 and T2 doors tend to fill first around the morning bank of flights between 05:00 and 08:00, and again in the evening rush after 17:00.
Practical tip: grab a photo of your parking row and the terminal door number (T1 or T2) on your phone when you arrive; it saves a long walk if your return flight lands in the other terminal.