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SafetyScorer

Is Air China safe?

Air China

Air China has not had a fatal accident since a Boeing 767 crashed near Busan in April 2002. Since then it has written off two widebodies in ground accidents at Beijing and drawn a CAAC penalty in 2018 after a co-pilot's vaping led to a rapid descent.

Medium confidence#54 of 98 airlinesUpdated
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Last fatal accident
CA129, Busan, 15 April 2002 (129 dead)
Fatal accidents (last 20 years)
0
Hull losses (last 20 years)
2, both on the ground at Beijing (2007, 2019)
Fleet
536 aircraft, average 10.2 years (group 972, 30 June 2026)
Main types
Airbus A320 family, Boeing 737, A330, A350, 777, 747
Home regulator
CAAC, China (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)

How the score breaks down

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

  • Accident record40% of score

    88 out of 100, Excellent

    No fatal accident since CA129 hit a hill near Busan on 15 April 2002, killing 129 of 166 (ASN). Two widebodies were 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 at the gate in Beijing, a 767 whose nose gear retracted in 2007 and an A330 burned out by a cargo fire in 2019.

  • Regulatory oversight20% of score

    80 out of 100, Good

    China 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 (April 2025), no Chinese airline is on the EU Air Safety ListThe European Commission's list of airlines banned or restricted from flying in EU airspace because they do not meet international safety standards.More in the glossary (June 2026), and China reports a 90.19% ICAO audit score for 2024. CAAC publishes few investigation reports. Air China 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.

  • Fleet15% of score

    78 out of 100, Good

    Air China itself flew 536 aircraft averaging 10.16 years at 30 June 2026, and the group 972 averaging 10.60 years (interim report). The newest are 30 A350s; the oldest, nine 747s, average 15 years.

  • Serious incidents15% of score

    68 out of 100, Fair

    In July 2018, a co-pilot's vaping led to air-conditioning being switched off and a rapid descent; CAAC fined Air China CNY 50,000 and cut its Beijing 737 flights by 10%. In September 2023, an A320neo was evacuated at Singapore after an engine fire.

  • Operating environment10% of score

    72 out of 100, Good

    Beijing is well equipped but has winter fog and spring dust storms. Branches at Chengdu, Chongqing and in Xizang (Tibet) put the mountains of south-west China and the Tibetan plateau in the network.

Is Air China safe?

Yes, with some caveats. Air China, the national flag carrier, has had no fatal accident since April 2002, and it flies under a regulator in the FAA's top category. We score it 80. Points go for two widebodies 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 ground accidents at Beijing, a 2018 cockpit lapse that led to a regulator's penalty, and the limited information China publishes about incidents.

The Busan crash in 2002

On 15 April 2002, flight CA129, a Boeing 767-200ER from Beijing, was cleared for an approach to Busan's Gimhae airport that ended with a visual circle to land on the opposite runway, close to hills. The crew turned for the runway late and wide, and the aircraft struck a hill north of the airport. 129 of the 166 people on board died; 37 survived. It remains Air China's only fatal crash.

Air China absorbed China Southwest Airlines in the 2002 restructuring of Chinese aviation. China Southwest's Tu-154 crash near Wenzhou in 1999, which killed 61, happened before the merger and is not counted here.

Two jets lost at the gate

Air China's two 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 since 2002 both happened on the ground at Beijing Capital airport, with no deaths:

  • 1 July 2007: the nose landing gear of a Boeing 767 retracted at the gate after maintenance work on its hydraulics, and the forward fuselage dropped to the ground. The aircraft was written off, and four people on board were hurt.
  • 27 August 2019: an Airbus A330-300 caught fire in the forward cargo hold while 147 passengers were boarding a flight to Tokyo. The crew heard a noise, saw smoke and evacuated everyone. The fire burned through the top of the forward fuselage, and the aircraft was written off. Initial information pointed to two containers of mixed goods in the hold.

Neither event hurt passengers in flight, but both point to ground handling and maintenance processes, which matter as much as flying.

The vaping pilot and other incidents

The event that drew the strongest regulatory response was on 10 July 2018. On a Boeing 737 from Hong Kong to Dalian, the co-pilot wanted to stop his e-cigarette vapour from reaching the cabin and tried to switch off a recirculation fan. He turned off the air-conditioning packs next to it instead. The cabin altitude warning sounded, and the aircraft descended to about 3,000 m before climbing again and landing safely.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) fined Air China CNY 50,000, cut its Boeing 737 departures from Beijing by 10% (5,400 flight hours a month), ordered a three-month safety overhaul and acted against the pilots' licences, Yicai reported.

On 10 September 2023, flight CA403, an Airbus A320neo from Chengdu, landed at Singapore with smoke in the cabin and a fire in its left engine. All 155 people left by the slides; 9 passengers had minor injuries. Air China said an engine failure caused the fire, and Singapore's Transport Safety Investigation Bureau investigated.

Fleet

At 30 June 2026, Air China itself flew 536 aircraft with an average age of 10.16 years. With its subsidiaries, the group had 972, averaging 10.60 years. The group fleet is split almost evenly between Airbus (373 A320-family jets, 49 A330s, 30 A350s) and Boeing (420 737s, 28 777s, 14 787s and 9 747s). The group also flies 46 Chinese-built COMAC jets: 35 C909 regional jets and 11 C919s.

The fleet is slightly older than China Southern's or China Eastern's, and the A330s and 747s are in their second decade. All are current or recent types with good records.

Who flies your Air China flight?

Air China holds 51% of Shenzhen Airlines and controls Shandong Airlines, Dalian Airlines, Air China Inner Mongolia and Air Macau. Each has its own operating certificate under the same regulator. A codeshare ticket sold under a CA number may be flown by one of them, so check the "operated by" line. Air China also owns a large stake in Cathay Pacific, which is regulated separately in Hong Kong.

How we scored it

The accident record (88) is strong, with no fatal crash in 24 years and two ground 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. Serious incidents (68) are the weakest factor, because of the 2018 penalty and the 2019 and 2023 fires. Compare China Southern, which has a younger fleet and no hull loss in 20 years, and China Eastern.

Questions people ask

Has Air China ever had a crash?

Yes, one with deaths in its modern history. On 15 April 2002, flight CA129, a Boeing 767-200ER from Beijing, hit a hill while circling to land at Busan in South Korea. 129 of the 166 people on board died. Air China has had no fatal accident since.

What happened on the Air China flight with the vaping pilot?

On 10 July 2018, on a Boeing 737 from Hong Kong to Dalian, the co-pilot tried to turn off a fan so his e-cigarette vapour would not reach the cabin, but switched off the air-conditioning packs instead. The cabin altitude rose and the jet descended to about 3,000 m before climbing again and landing safely. CAAC fined the airline, cut its 737 flights from Beijing by 10% and acted against the pilots' licences.

What happened on Air China flight CA403 in Singapore?

On 10 September 2023, the A320neo from Chengdu reported smoke in the forward cargo hold and toilet and landed at Changi, where firefighters put out a fire in the left engine. All 146 passengers and 9 crew left by the slides, and 9 passengers had minor injuries. Singapore's Transport Safety Investigation Bureau investigated.

Is Shenzhen Airlines part of Air China?

Yes. Air China holds 51% of Shenzhen Airlines, which flies under its own ZH code and certificate with a group fleet of 242 aircraft, including Kunming Airlines. Air China's other airlines include Shandong, Dalian, Air China Inner Mongolia and Air Macau.

Sources

  1. 1.ASN Wikibase 323073 – Air China CA129, Busan, 15 April 2002 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network, 2002
  2. 2.ASN Wikibase 319349 – Air China A330 fire at Beijing, 27 August 2019 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network, 2019
  3. 3.ASN Wikibase 347012 – Air China 767 nose gear retraction, Beijing, 1 July 2007 (opens in a new tab) · Aviation Safety Network, 2007
  4. 4.Regulator clips Air China's wings on e-cigarette botch, cuts 737 flights by 10% (opens in a new tab) · Yicai Global, 2018
  5. 5.Air China plane makes emergency landing at Singapore's Changi Airport (opens in a new tab) · The Tribune (India), 2023
  6. 6.Air China 2026 Interim Report (opens in a new tab) · Air China (HKEX filing), 2026
  7. 7.International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) results (opens in a new tab) · FAA, 2025
  8. 8.USOAP-CMA audit experience sharing by CAAC AGA team (A42-WP/604) (opens in a new tab) · ICAO Assembly (paper presented by China), 2025
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