Boliviana de Aviación (BoA)

Is BoA safe?

BoA has never had a fatal accident or lost an aircraft, but it is one of the weaker airlines we cover in South America, and its problems are getting worse rather than better. Bolivia's state airline flies an old fleet of Boeing 737s, has a long list of landing gear and cabin pressure faults, and in 2026 had only about 10 of its 19 aircraft in service. We score it 69, below LATAM (71) and Avianca (80), the two foreign airlines with the most seats out of Bolivia.

For most travellers there is little choice: BoA offered 91% of Bolivia's domestic seats in 2025 and Ecojet the other 9% (Cirium data via Aviacionline). A third domestic airline, the Air Force-run TAMep, flies a single Avro RJ70 and was grounded from October 2025 to April 2026. The clean accident record is real, and the crews know the country's high airports well. What we weigh against it is the state of the aircraft.

Has BoA had any accidents?

No crash and no written-off aircraft since flights began in 2009. The Aviation Safety Network database holds no BoA accident at all. Investigators did class one event as an accident:

• La Paz, 3 August 2019. A Boeing 737-300 from Cochabamba (flight OB604, 96 people on board) shook violently on the landing roll and stopped on the runway. The left main wheels had turned against the gear leg, both shimmy dampers on the main gear were broken, ceiling panels fell into the cabin and four passengers had minor injuries. The DGAC's progress report said the flight data were consistent with damper failure and pointed to a likely higher landing speed. We found no final report.

That aircraft, CP-3077, had suffered a similar gear failure at La Paz in November 2017, when a shock absorber fractured on the landing roll. After a third gear event on another 737-300 in March 2019, the DGAC suspended all Boeing 737 Classic flights at La Paz from 10 October 2019 until the aircraft had been checked. In practice that meant BoA's 737-300s; the events it cited also included a Peruvian Airlines 737-500 whose main gear collapsed there in November 2018. A regulator banning an airline's oldest jets from its main airport is a strong signal, and it is the single biggest reason for our low incidents score.

What other incidents should you know about?

The list since 2016 is long for an airline of BoA's size, and most items point at the aircraft, not the weather:

• Cabin pressure. 737s failed to pressurise after take-off from La Paz in 2017 and 2024. On 16 April 2026 a 737 flying from La Paz to Cobija lost cabin pressure as it began its descent from 38,000 feet; the oxygen masks dropped and the crew made an emergency descent before landing safely at Cobija.
• Structure. In May 2023 a 737-800 lost its left winglet as it landed at São Paulo. A 767 shed a panel climbing out of Cochabamba in 2019.
• Engines. In-flight shutdowns or rejected take-offs for engine faults in 2019, 2023, January 2025 and August 2026, when a 737-700 returned to São Paulo.
• 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. A 737-700 ran off the paved surface while turning to backtrack at Potosí in 2018, without injuries.

None of these led to injuries beyond the 2019 landing. Crews handled them by the book, and that matters. But taken together they describe ageing aircraft that need more maintenance than BoA has been able to buy.

How old is BoA's fleet?

Old, and in poor shape in 2026. In May 2023 BoA had 23 aircraft with an average age of 21.5 years: five Boeing 737-300s averaging 21 years, four 737-700s at about 20, eight 737-800s aged 16 to 21, and Boeing 767s averaging 28 years that were being replaced by two Airbus A330-200s. The 737-300s no longer flew to La Paz. From late 2024 BoA took 737-700s returned by Aerolíneas Argentinas, which did not lower the average age.

By December 2025 only 10 of 20 aircraft were flying, and BoA owed about 37 million dollars to lessors and repair shops. Under a new government, the active fleet rose to 12 in early 2026 and then fell back. In July 2026 the new general manager, Estanislao Finfera, said 10 aircraft were active when 17 are needed, blamed a lack of maintenance and poor management, and said one aircraft at Santa Cruz had been stripped for parts. He said BoA owns only "one and a half" of its aircraft. The government is in talks with Embraer about new jets and plans to add leased CRJs.

A grounded aircraft is not a danger to passengers. The concern is the pressure on the aircraft that keep flying, and on the engineers who keep them in the air.

How we scored it

The accident record (85) is the strongest factor: 17 years without deaths or a lost aircraft, with one gear accident at La Paz. Oversight scores 76: Bolivia holds FAA 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 BoA has IOSAIOSAThe 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, but investigations stay inside the DGAC and final reports are hard to find. The fleet scores 45 for its age and the 2026 maintenance crisis, serious incidents 52 for the 2019 La Paz ban and repeated pressure, gear and winglet failures, and the high-altitude network 50. Overall 69.

Flying BoA: what to check

• Leave slack in your plans. BoA logged 4,825 delayed flights in 2026 up to August, about 20 a day, according to figures the public works minister gave lawmakers. Do not book a tight onward connection on another airline.
• Expect thin air at La Paz. Arriving from sea level, climb stairs slowly and drink water. On board, a slower take-off run at El Alto is normal.
• Listen to the oxygen mask briefing. BoA has had several cabin pressure faults since 2016, one of them near cruising height in April 2026. If the masks drop, put yours on before helping anyone else; at 38,000 feet you have well under a minute of useful consciousness.