British Airways

Is British Airways safe?

Yes. In 50 years, British Airways has had one fatal accident, and an air traffic controller caused it. On 10 September 1976, a BA Trident on Flight 476 from Heathrow to Istanbul collided over Zagreb with an Inex-Adria DC-9 after a controller put both aircraft at the same altitude. All 63 people on the BA aircraft died. Nothing like it has happened to BA since.

We score BA 86. It loses points for an older fleet than Singapore Airlines or Emirates, and for two serious incidents in 2026 that are still under investigation.

The crash everyone survived

The event that still defines BA's modern record is BA38. On 17 January 2008, a Boeing 777-200ER arriving from Beijing lost thrust on both engines about two miles from Heathrow. The crew stretched the glide over the airport fence and landed on the grass short of runway 27L. All 152 people on board survived; one was seriously hurt. The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) found that ice crystals in the fuel had blocked the fuel-oil heat exchangers on the Rolls-Royce Trent engines. Rolls-Royce redesigned the part. 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 first 777 hull loss anywhere.

Seven years later, on 8 September 2015, a GE90 engine on BA2276, another 777-200ER, failed during take-off at Las Vegas and set the aircraft on fire. The crew stopped on the runway and all 170 people got out, some with minor injuries. The US NTSB traced it to a fatigue crack in a compressor part.

The last BA aircraft written off was a Boeing 747-400. On 22 December 2013, flight BA34 missed a turn while taxiing at night at Johannesburg and its right wing sliced into a building, injuring four people inside. South African investigators found that the crew had not briefed a changed taxi route and that taxiway guide lights were out.

Two other jets in BA colours were written off in 2015, both flown by franchise partners rather than BA: a Comair Boeing 737-400 at Johannesburg and a Sun-Air Dornier 328 at Hamburg. Nobody died, and we do not count them against BA.

What happened in 2026?

Two events in 2026 are now with the AAIB:

• 27 January 2026, Heathrow: an Airbus A350 lost one of its main wheels during take-off. Losing a wheel is a classic serious incident; the aircraft landed safely.
• 6 July 2026, Heathrow: BA919, an A320 from Düsseldorf, had an air data failure on approach that dropped the flight controls into a reduced protection mode and set off stall warnings. The crew went around, held and had a second stall warning at 3,000 feet before landing safely.

Neither report is out. Also on the record: the AAIB's January 2026 report on BA268, an A380 from Los Angeles that hit turbulence south of Greenland in December 2024. The seat belt signs were on, but a passenger and a crew member fell and suffered serious lower-leg injuries.

How old are BA's planes?

BA does not publish an average age, but its fleet pages show the shape. The oldest group is 43 Boeing 777-200ERs, which Head for Points put at nearly 25 years on average in 2025, some close to 29. Many of the 22 A319s and 60 A320ceos are also old. Against that, BA has 12 Airbus A380s, 18 A350-1000s, 42 Boeing 787s, 16 777-300ERs and 33 A320neos plus A321neos. It retired all its Boeing 747s in 2020. In 2025 IAG ordered 32 more 787-10s for BA and took up options on six more 777-9s and six A350-1000s, for delivery between 2028 and 2033, to replace the 777-200ERs.

Old aircraft are not unsafe when maintained well, and the UK CAA is a strict regulator. But age means more technical delays, and on long-haul flights the 777-200ER is the cabin to expect if you are unlucky.

Who checks British Airways?

Since the UK left the EU aviation safety system at the end of 2020, the UK Civil Aviation Authority has certified BA on its own rather than through EASA. In practice the rules are still almost identical, and the CAA is one of the most experienced regulators in the world. The UK holds 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 in the FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment, and BA, as an IATA member, is IOSA-registeredIOSAThe 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. Accidents and serious incidents are investigated by the AAIB, which is independent of both the airline and the CAA.

How to fly BA well

• Look at the aircraft in "Manage My Booking". The 787 and A350-1000 are the newest long-haul aircraft; the 777-200ER at Gatwick or Heathrow is the oldest.
• Keep your belt on across the North Atlantic. The December 2024 injuries happened in clear-air turbulence over Greenland, where the winter jet stream is strong.
• Know who operates short flights. BA CityFlyer at London City and BA Euroflyer at Gatwick are BA subsidiaries; flights sold by BA but flown by Iberia, Aer Lingus or American depend on that operator's record (see our American Airlines page).

How we scored it

The accident record (90), oversight (92) and operating environment (90) are all strong; the fleet (70) is the weak point. BA sits just behind Lufthansa and Qantas and well ahead of its transatlantic partner American Airlines.