Air Canada

Is Air Canada safe?

Yes. Air Canada has gone more than 40 years without a fatal accident on a mainline flight, and its regulator, Transport Canada, sits in the top tier of FAA and IATA audits. We score it 84, level with Alaska and Delta. What keeps it from the top is a hull lossHull 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 2015, a serious near miss in 2017 and an old Rouge fleet.

The deadliest Air Canada accident since 1980 was flight 797 on 2 June 1983. A fire started in the rear lavatory of a DC-9 over Kentucky, and 23 of the 46 people on board died from smoke and flash fire after the crew landed at Cincinnati. The circuit breakers for the lavatory flush motor had tripped about 10 minutes before the crew learned of the smoke, according to the investigation summary on ASN.

What happened at Halifax and San Francisco?

On 29 March 2015, flight 624 from Toronto was making a non-precision approach in snow at Halifax when the Airbus A320 came down short of the runway. It cut power lines, struck an antenna array and slid onto the runway; part of the landing gear was torn off and both engines separated. All 138 people survived, though 23 were injured, and the aircraft was written offHull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary. The Canadian investigators (TSB) found that Air Canada's procedures did not require crews on this kind of approach to keep checking their height against distance from the runway once past the final approach fix.

Two years later came a closer call. On 7 July 2017, flight 759, another A320, was cleared to land on runway 28R at San Francisco just before midnight but lined up with the parallel taxiway, where four airliners waited to take off. According to the NTSB, it descended to 100 feet, flew over the first aircraft and reached about 60 feet before the go-around. The NTSB found the crew had missed a notice that the parallel runway was closed, and named fatigue, expectation bias and Air Canada's ineffective presentation of NOTAM information as contributing factors.

Recent incidents

None of the 2026 events below caused injuries on board, and only the first points to the crew:

• 9 July 2026, Montreal: a Boeing 737 MAX 8 from Los Angeles with 161 on board slid off the side of wet runway 06L while turning toward a high-speed exit and stopped in the grass. The TSB has opened a class 3 investigation (A26Q0096).
• 20 February 2026, Moncton: a Rouge A320 on short final saw a student pilot's training aircraft on the runway and went around. The TSB says the trainer had passed its hold-short line.
• 2026, ground damage: a de-icing truck struck an A220 at Charlottetown in March, seriously injuring its operator, and a taxiing 777 from another airline hit a parked Air Canada 787's wingtip at Toronto in July.

Air Canada Express and the LaGuardia crash

Many of Air Canada's domestic and short US flights are flown under the Air Canada Express name by two separate airlines: Jazz Aviation (CRJ-900s, E175s and Dash 8-400s) and PAL Airlines (Dash 8s). Their crews, certificates and safety records are their own, and we score them separately, as we do for American Eagle or Delta Connection.

The fatal accident many people link to Air Canada was one of these. On 22 March 2026, Jazz flight 646, sold as Air Canada 8646, collided on landing at LaGuardia with an airport fire truck that controllers had cleared across the runway. Both pilots were killed and 39 people went to hospital. The NTSB's preliminary report points at the clearance and the airport's warning systems, and the investigation is still open.

How old are Air Canada's planes?

It depends on the aircraft. At the end of 2025, the 223 mainline aircraft averaged 12.9 years, according to the airline's annual information form. The A220s (4.1 years), 737 MAX 8s (5.3) and 787-9s (8.3) are modern. The old part is the Airbus narrowbody fleet: 22 A320s averaging 29.7 years and A321s at 20.1. Rouge's 33 A319s, A320s and A321s averaged 20.0 years.

That is changing quickly. Air Canada is moving all its 737 MAX 8s to Rouge in 2026, taking its first A321XLRs and 787-10s the same year and A350-1000s from 2030.

Flying Air Canada: what to check

• Look at "operated by". Air Canada Express flights often carry numbers in the AC8000s, as Jazz 646 did (AC8646). The booking page shows the operator.
• In winter, expect de-icing delays. At Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, waiting for de-icing is normal from November to April. A delay for de-icing is the system working.
• Keep your seat belt loosely fastened. When a 777 from Shanghai hit severe turbulence over Alaska in December 2015, 21 passengers were hurt, most of them not belted in despite warnings (TSB, via ASN). A passenger who stood up on a 787 near Tokyo in 2022 was seriously injured.

How we scored it

The accident record (91) and Transport Canada oversight (90) carry the score. The fleet (70) loses points for the old A320s and the Rouge Airbus fleet, and serious incidents (74) for San Francisco in 2017 and the Montreal runway excursionRunway excursionWhen an aircraft leaves the runway surface during take-off or landing, either off the end (an overrun) or off the side (a veer-off).More in the glossary in 2026. WestJet scores a little higher on a cleaner record.