Emerald Airlines

Is Emerald Airlines safe?

Yes, with a record that is shorter and bumpier than its partner's. Emerald Airlines has flown Aer Lingus Regional since 2022 and nobody has been hurt on its flights. But in four years its ATR turboprops have had their landing gear damaged in three heavy landings, and UK and Irish investigators have opened several serious incident cases. We score it 80, against 87 for Aer Lingus itself.

Who are you actually flying with?

If you book a short Aer Lingus flight from Dublin, Cork or Belfast City to a UK regional airport, the Isle of Man or Jersey, the aircraft will be an ATR 72-600 painted in Aer Lingus colours. Emerald flies it. Aer Lingus signed a ten-year franchise with Emerald in August 2021, after the previous operator, Stobart Air, collapsed. Emerald also flies the government-supported route between Dublin and Donegal.

Emerald runs two certificates. Emerald Airlines in Dublin holds an Irish certificate from the Irish Aviation Authority under EASA rules, with Irish-registered aircraft. Emerald Airlines UK flies most Belfast City routes with UK-registered aircraft under the UK Civil Aviation Authority. Both appear on this page, and both share the same training, manuals and management. Neither is an IATA member. IATA's 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 registry lists the Irish airline as registered after its first audit in 2025, valid until 23 May 2027, but has no entry for Emerald Airlines UK. Oversight scores 88: our level for EU airlines with IOSA is 90, and the UK certificate lacks the audit.

Three heavy landings in two years

None of these hurt anyone. The AAIB classed the first two as serious incidents and the third as an accident:

• Liverpool, 14 August 2023. An ATR from Dublin flew into heavy rain over the runway threshold, visibility dropped to almost nothing and a tailwind built up. The aircraft touched down hard, at 2.8 g according to the AAIB. The captain took control and went around. Both main landing gear legs were replaced.
• Belfast City, 30 December 2023. In gusts of up to 35 knots, an ATR from Edinburgh made two attempts to land. On the second, the left main and nose gear struck the runway with loads beyond their design limits. The crew went around and diverted to Belfast International. The AAIB called the wind a known hazard at Belfast City.
• Belfast City, 22 December 2024. An Emerald UK ATR with four crew on a positioning flight touched down nose-first in bad weather. The nose gear collapsed and the aircraft stopped at the runway edge with substantial damage. The AAIB is investigating.

Gusty crosswinds at Belfast City are part of the job, and going around is the right call. Three gear-damage events in about two years is still a high count for a fleet of this size. Together with the Edinburgh nosewheel below, which the AAIB also classed as an accident, the 2024 collapse holds the accident record at 82.

The incidents investigators looked at

• Belfast City, September 2022. On approach, several systems on an ATR went off-line, including some needed for landing, after an electrical contactor failed. The AAIB found that the crew, startled and without a procedure for this failure, continued the approach; ATR has since improved its guidance.
• Donegal, February 2023. An ATR from Dublin veered right on landing and briefly left the runway. Ireland's AAIU classed it as a serious incident.
• Edinburgh, October 2023 (an accident in the AAIB's files). A nosewheel came off on take-off. Nobody noticed until the aircraft reached its stand at Belfast. The axle failed after a wheel bearing overheated, and the AAIB noted that departures from approved maintenance procedures may have contributed.
• Dublin, June 2025. An ATR taking off for Birmingham from an intersection with about 1,325 metres of runway ahead rotated late. The AAIU is investigating it as a serious incident.

A panel also fell from an ATR near the Isle of Man in June 2025, and two windscreens have cracked in flight. The late rotation and the maintenance findings matter most here, because they point at the airline's own procedures rather than the weather. Incidents score 70, just below Loganair at 72.

The fleet and the routes

Emerald flies only ATR 72-600s, the current version of the type, with a glass cockpit and modern engines. The aircraft in AAIB and ASN reports were built between 2013 and 2017, and several came second-hand, so this is a mid-life fleet rather than a new one. Fleet scores 76.

The routes are short sea crossings to well-equipped British airports, with two harder ones: Belfast City, where the AAIB treats gusty wind as a published hazard, and Donegal on the exposed Atlantic coast. The environment scores 78.

Flying Aer Lingus Regional: practical points

• Expect a go-around on windy days at Belfast City. It is the normal safe response to gusts, and two of the three heavy landings above ended with one.
• Keep your belt fastened in your seat. Turboprops cruise lower, in the bumpier air, on these short hops.
• Look for "operated by Emerald Airlines" when you book. If you would rather fly a mainline jet, check whether Aer Lingus or another airline flies the same city pair.

How we scored it

Oversight (88) and a record with no injuries carry Emerald, but two accidents, the Edinburgh nosewheel and the Belfast City nose gear collapse, keep the accident record at 82, and five serious incident investigations since 2022 put incidents at 70. Overall 80, below Aer Lingus (87) and the Channel Islands ATR operator Aurigny (84), which flies the same type with a quieter investigation file.