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SafetyScorer

Is Aer Lingus safe?

Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus has not had a fatal accident since a Viscount crashed off Tuskar Rock in 1968, and no aircraft has been written off in decades. It is overseen within the EASA system. A 2025 approach upset that it reported two months late, and ageing A320s and A330s, keep it below the top.

High confidence#14 of 98 airlinesUpdated
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Last fatal accident
EI712, Vickers Viscount, Tuskar Rock, 24 March 1968 (61 deaths)
Hull losses (last 20 years)
None
Mainline fleet
About 60 Airbus jets (2025)
Oldest types
A320-200s averaging over 15 years, A330s (2025)
Newest types
Airbus A321LR, A321XLR, A320neo
Home regulator
Irish Aviation Authority within EASA (FAA FAA IASAThe US FAA's check of whether a country's aviation regulator meets ICAO standards. Category 1 means it does; Category 2 means it does not.More in the glossary)
IOSA
Registered (IATA member)
Regional flights
Aer Lingus Regional, flown by Emerald Airlines under its own certificate

How the score breaks down

The overall score is the weighted average of these factors. Scoring rules

  • Accident record40% of score

    95 out of 100, Excellent

    The last fatal Aer Lingus accident was EI712, a Viscount that crashed into the sea off Tuskar Rock in March 1968, killing 61 (ASN). The Aviation Safety Network lists no Hull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary for Aer Lingus in the last 20 years.

  • Regulatory oversight20% of score

    88 out of 100, Excellent

    Aer Lingus is certified by the Irish Aviation Authority within the EASA system, Ireland holds FAA IASAThe US FAA's check of whether a country's aviation regulator meets ICAO standards. Category 1 means it does; Category 2 means it does not.More in the glossary Category 1, and it is IOSAThe IATA Operational Safety Audit, an international audit of an airline's safety management and operations. Every IATA member must pass it.More in the glossary as an IATA member. It reported a January 2025 approach upset two months after the 72-hour deadline.

  • Fleet15% of score

    74 out of 100, Good

    Its 27 A320-200s averaged over 15 years in mid-2025, and its A330s are mid-life to old. A320neos, eight A321LRs and new A321XLRs make up about a third of the fleet and are replacing older jets on Atlantic routes.

  • Serious incidents15% of score

    76 out of 100, Good

    On EI493 in January 2025, an A320 banked to 44 degrees and lost speed twice approaching Dublin, and the late report meant the flight recorders were overwritten (AAIU). An A321neo hit its tail at Washington Dulles in 2023.

  • Operating environment10% of score

    88 out of 100, Excellent

    Dublin is a well-equipped hub, and the network is Europe and North America. Atlantic storms bring strong crosswinds to Irish and UK airports in winter, and transatlantic routes cross the North Atlantic jet stream.

Is Aer Lingus safe?

Yes. Aer Lingus has not had a fatal accident in 58 years, and the Aviation Safety Network lists no aircraft Hull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary in the last two decades. It flies under the EASA system and is IOSAThe IATA Operational Safety Audit, an international audit of an airline's safety management and operations. Every IATA member must pass it.More in the glossary. We score it 87, just above its IAG sisters British Airways and Iberia, and just below Ryanair, its Dublin rival. It loses points for one badly handled incident in 2025 and an older part of its fleet.

What happened at Tuskar Rock?

On 24 March 1968, Aer Lingus flight 712, a Vickers Viscount from Cork to London, crashed into the sea near Tuskar Rock, off County Wexford. All 61 people on board died. The cause has never been established with certainty. It is far outside our 20-year window and does not affect the score.

The incident Aer Lingus reported late

The event that matters for the score happened on 14 January 2025. EI493, an Airbus A320 from Faro with 140 passengers and six crew, was approaching Dublin from the south. After turning onto the inbound course, the aircraft drifted south of it, and the correction took it into a 44-degree bank, well beyond the normal limit. It then lost airspeed twice while flying away from the airport before the crew climbed, turned back and landed. No one was hurt.

What made it a story was the reporting. EU rules require a mandatory occurrence report within 72 hours. Aer Lingus first decided the event did not meet that threshold and only reported it on 18 March 2025, two months later. By then the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder had been overwritten, so Ireland's Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) could not use them. The AAIU's final report, published in summer 2026, made no recommendations, which Aer Lingus pointed to. The Irish Times reported that the regulator first heard of the event through a voluntary report on EASA's portal. A strong reporting culture is one of the things that separate the safest airlines from the rest, and this is why we hold oversight at 88 rather than 90 or more.

Other recent incidents

  • 30 August 2023, Washington Dulles. EI117, an A321neo from Dublin, bounced on landing in gusty wind, and the go-around that followed scraped the tail on the runway. The AAIU investigated.
  • 28 January 2026, Dublin. EI605 from Amsterdam, an A320, declared a Mayday after an engine failed on descent and landed safely, according to ePlane AI.

How old are Aer Lingus's planes?

The fleet has two halves. In mid-2025 it had 27 A320-200s averaging over 15 years, and its Airbus A330 widebodies, mostly A330-300s, are mid-life to old. The newer half is A320neos, eight A321LRs and the first of six A321XLRs, which arrived from December 2024 and are taking over some Atlantic routes from the A330s. Aer Lingus does not publish an average age. All of its jets are Fly-by-wireA flight control system in which the pilot's inputs go to computers, which then move the control surfaces. Many such systems also stop unsafe manoeuvres.More in the glossary Airbus types maintained under the same IAA and EASA rules.

Who flies Aer Lingus Regional?

Aer Lingus Regional is a brand. Since March 2022 its flights have been operated by Emerald Airlines, an independent Irish company, under a ten-year franchise that was brought forward from January 2023 after the previous operator, Stobart Air, collapsed in June 2021. Emerald flies ATR 72-600 turboprops between Ireland and UK regional airports, and from Belfast City through a UK-certified subsidiary. Its record is separate: an ATR lost a nosewheel on take-off from Edinburgh in October 2023 because of an overheated axle bearing, and another's nose gear collapsed on landing at Belfast City in December 2024 on a positioning flight. No one was hurt in either.

Tips for flying Aer Lingus

  • Look for the A321LR or XLR or the A330-300 on Atlantic routes; the A321s are newer but narrower.
  • Check "operated by" on short routes. Flights to UK regional cities and from Belfast City may be Emerald's ATRs.
  • Expect go-arounds in winter. Atlantic storms bring strong crosswinds to Dublin, Cork and Shannon, and a missed approach is the normal safe response.

How we scored it

A near-spotless accident record (95) carries the score. Incidents (76) and oversight (88) are lower because of the 2025 reporting failure, and the fleet (74) waits on more A321XLRs and new widebodies.

Questions people ask

Has Aer Lingus ever had a crash?

Yes, but not for a long time. On 24 March 1968, Aer Lingus flight 712, a Vickers Viscount from Cork to London, crashed into the sea near Tuskar Rock off County Wexford, killing all 61 people on board. Aer Lingus has had no fatal accident since.

Is Aer Lingus Regional as safe as Aer Lingus?

Aer Lingus Regional flights are operated by Emerald Airlines, a separate company with its own certificates, under a ten-year franchise. The contract was due to start in January 2023, but Emerald began flying the routes in March 2022. It flies ATR 72-600 turboprops. No one has died, but Emerald ATRs had a nosewheel come off at Edinburgh in 2023 and a nose gear collapse at Belfast City in 2024. Those events do not count in this score.

Why did Aer Lingus report an incident two months late?

Aer Lingus said it first judged that the January 2025 Dublin approach upset did not meet the threshold for a mandatory report, then changed its mind and reported it on 18 March 2025. EU rules require a report within 72 hours. By then the cockpit voice and flight data recordings were gone, which limited what investigators could learn.

Is the Aer Lingus A321 safe for flights across the Atlantic?

Yes. The A321LR and A321XLR are certified for long overwater flights under the same twin-engine rules as widebodies. Aer Lingus uses them on some routes from Dublin to North America. As on any flight, keep your belt fastened when seated.

Sources

  1. 1.ASN Wikibase 331891 – Aer Lingus EI712, Vickers Viscount, Tuskar Rock, 24 March 1968 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network, 1968
  2. 2.Aer Lingus failed to report aircraft incident in window required by safety regulations (opens in a new tab) · The Irish Times, 2026
  3. 3.ASN Wikibase 345587 – Aer Lingus A321neo tail strike, Washington Dulles, 30 August 2023 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network, 2023
  4. 4.Aer Lingus flight EI605 declares Mayday after engine failure near Dublin (opens in a new tab) · ePlane AI, 2026
  5. 5.Where we are at with Aer Lingus fleet deliveries (opens in a new tab) · Travel Extra, 2025
  6. 6.Aer Lingus signs new franchise for regional flights (opens in a new tab) · The Business Travel Magazine, 2021
  7. 7.Ireland's Emerald Airlines to begin Aer Lingus ops in 1Q22 (opens in a new tab) · ch-aviation, 2021
  8. 8.ASN Wikibase 467925 – Emerald Airlines UK ATR 72-600, Belfast City, 22 December 2024 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network, 2024
  9. 9.IASA Program Results (opens in a new tab) · FAA, 2025
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