Air Tahiti

Is Air Tahiti safe?

Yes. Air Tahiti has had no accident on its own certificate in the last 20 years, flies only current-model ATR turboprops, and holds an IOSA registrationIOSAThe 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 under French oversight. We score it 84. What keeps it out of the top band is where it flies: short island runways, steep mountain approaches in the Marquesas, and airports where pilots get little reliable weather information. France's BEA has opened three serious-incident investigations into Air Tahiti flights since 2022.

For most visitors the flight that matters is the short hop from Papeete to Bora Bora, between two well-used airports in the Society Islands. The harder flying is out in the far archipelagos.

How Air Tahiti's record looks

The Aviation Safety Network lists no accident on Air Tahiti's certificate since 2006. Its last fatal crash was on 18 April 1991, when a Dornier 228 lost an engine on approach to Nuku Hiva and ditched; ten of the 22 people on board died. That is outside our 20-year window, so it does not lower the score, but it is one reason the score is not higher.

The crash most people remember is more recent. On 9 August 2007 a Twin Otter on the short shuttle from Moorea to Papeete lost pitch control just after take-off and went into the sea, killing all 20 on board. The BEA found that a worn elevator cable, probably weakened by jet blast, had snapped, and that special inspections had been missed. The aircraft belonged to Air Moorea, a subsidiary of Air Tahiti, flying as QE 1121 under Air Moorea's own designator and certificate. Under our rules it counts on Air Moorea's record, not Air Tahiti's, but it is part of the group's history.

Serious incidents since 2022

Three BEA investigations in four years is more than we see at most small airlines, and each tells you something:

• Hiva Oa, April 2022. An ATR 72 flew an unstable approach into gusty wind on the lee side of the mountains, then hit windshear at 90 ft. Both pilots pulled on their controls in opposite directions, the elevator controls split apart as designed, and the aircraft landed hard, bounced and went around. The BEA said Air Tahiti's stabilised-approach criteria were not well suited to the steep approach and that the airport's weather service was inadequate.
• Nuku Hiva, September 2025. On flight VT807 the co-pilot could not push the control column forward at about 80 ft. The crew went around and landed safely. Air Tahiti and ATR found nothing wrong with the controls afterwards, and the cause stayed unknown.
• Papeete, June 2026. An ATR 42 from Bora Bora showed low fuel on one engine, which then stopped as the aircraft left the runway. The investigation is open.

Lesser events include a tail strikeTail strikeWhen the tail of an aircraft touches the runway during take-off or landing, usually because the nose was raised too far or too early.More in the glossary in gusty rain at Tubuai in 2020, a brief slide off the runway edge in a crosswind at Huahine in 2022, and an engine failure north of Fakarava in 2023, after which the crew diverted safely. We score incidents at 72.

Who oversees Air Tahiti?

Aviation safety in French Polynesia stays with the French state. The state civil aviation service there (SEAC-PF) works under France's DGAC, and accidents go to the BEA, which publishes detailed reports in French and English. The FAA rates France, including French Polynesia, Category 1FAA 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, and Air Tahiti is an IATA member, so it holds IOSA registrationIOSAThe 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. Because French Polynesia is outside the EU, the airline sits outside the EASA system, and we score oversight at 88, the same as Air Tahiti Nui.

The aircraft

Air Tahiti flies 13 aircraft, 11 ATR 72-600s and two ATR 42-600s, according to ch-aviation in October 2026. The -600 is the current ATR model, with a glass cockpit and modern engines, and the airline has flown ATRs for nearly 40 years, so its engineers and pilots know the type well. Four more ATR 72-600s ordered in 2024 are due through 2028, and an all-business-class ATR 72 arrived in October 2026. A turboprop fleet is not fly-by-wireFly-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, so we score the fleet at 78, in line with other all-ATR airlines.

One exception: the short hops between Nuku Hiva, Ua Pou and Ua Huka in the Marquesas. Since November 2022 Air Tahiti has sold them on Twin Otters wet-leased with crews from the Swiss operator Zimex Aviation (Air Journal). Those flights run on Zimex's certificate, so this score does not cover them.

Tips for flying Air Tahiti

• Build in a spare day before an international departure. Island flights are often delayed or cancelled by wind, and a missed long-haul connection is a bigger problem than a late arrival.
• Expect a rough approach in the Marquesas. Hiva Oa and Nuku Hiva are mountain airports where pilots need special authorisation and training. Keep your seat belt tight and stay seated until the engines stop.

How we scored it

The accident record (92) and French oversight (88) are the strongest factors. The environment (68) costs the most, followed by incidents (72), which reflect three BEA investigations since 2022. For the region's long-haul airlines, compare Air Tahiti Nui at 89 and Fiji Airways at 85.