ETF Airways

Is ETF Airways safe?

Yes, on the record it has. ETF Airways has had no accident in flight since it received its Croatian certificate in May 2021, and it works under the same EU safety rules as every other airline in Croatia. We score it 79. It holds 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 safety audit, but a five-year record from five aircraft proves less than a long one, and its Boeing 737s are among the older ones still flying in Europe.

Few people book ETF directly. It is an ACMI company: other airlines rent its aircraft with pilots, cabin crew, maintenance and insurance, and sell the seats under their own flight numbers. If your booking says "operated by ETF Airways", this is the record that applies to your flight.

Who does ETF fly for?

Three Croatian airline captains drew up the plan in 2016 and launched it during the pandemic. The first 737-800, named Voyager, arrived in May 2021, the same month the certificate was issued. Management bought out the outside investors in July 2025.

The client list changes every season. In its first years ETF flew for MyWings out of Pristina, for Sundair from Dresden and for Corsair between Réunion and Mayotte in the Indian Ocean. Neos used a 737 from Bergamo in summer 2023, and Jet2 based two in Manchester in 2024. From December 2025 to March 2026 all three of ETF's 737s flew for Flybondi from Córdoba in Argentina, with Spanish-speaking pilots hired for the job.

The biggest change came in April 2026, when ETF's first ATR 72-600 began flying for Croatia Airlines. The turboprop is leased from Avation and was previously flown by Taiwan's Mandarin Airlines. Croatia Airlines has scheduled twice as many ATR flights for summer 2027 and expects a second aircraft from ETF.

What is on ETF's record?

No accident in flight, and three events worth knowing about.

Bremen, 2021. On 2 August 2021, landing at Bremen on a short flight from Dortmund, 9A-LAB, ETF's first 737, sucked a wild rabbit into its right engine. The damage was enough to change the engine and ground the jet for about 12 days, at a cost ETF put at around €1 million. ETF's chief executive said holes in the airport's perimeter fence let the animal in and announced a claim against the airport. Wildlife strikes are counted as events, but we weigh this one lightly: nothing points to a fault at the airline.

Sharm el-Sheikh, January 2025. Climbing out of Sharm el-Sheikh for Rome on Neos flight NO6243, 9A-ABC had an LED light bar recently installed in the overhead lockers caught fire. The cabin crew put it out with an extinguisher, the pilots returned, and the lighting was isolated before the jet flew on. A fire in the cabin is serious; the crew's handling was what you would want.

Córdoba, January 2026. On New Year's Day a violent hailstorm hit Córdoba while 9A-LAB, the 737 from the Bremen rabbit strike, was parked there for Flybondi. The airframe was badly damaged and has not flown since. In June 2026 EX-YU Aviation News reported that the 25-year-old jet might be 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. Nobody was on board, so under ICAO rules this is damage, not an accident, and we do not count it in the accident score.

Croatia's accident investigators publish few reports, and ETF's crews spend much of the year abroad, so a quiet public record means less than it would at a big airline. Compare Marathon Airlines, a Greek wet-lease company of the same age, which wrote off a jet at Belgrade in 2024.

Who checks ETF?

ETF's certificate comes from the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency, which applies EASA rules. The FAA rates Croatia 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 ETF holds US and Canadian foreign-carrier permits. Its website lists "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 approved" among its approvals. ETF is not an IATA member, but IATA's IOSA registry confirms the claim: it lists ETF as registered after a 2024 renewal audit, valid until 13 January 2027. We score oversight 90, the level we give EU airlines with IOSA, such as Heston Airlines.

How old are ETF's aircraft?

ETF's own pages give the build years of three 737-800s: 2001 (9A-LAB, the hail-damaged jet), 2004 and 2006. A fourth, 9A-ICF, arrived in June 2026 at 16 years old after flying for Shandong Airlines and Norwegian. The ATR 72-600 was about nine when it arrived. That makes an average of about 18 years.

The 737-800 is a proven type with a good record, but these are older examples, and it does not have 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 controls. The ATR 72-600 is the current version of the turboprop, with a modern glass cockpit.

Before you fly ETF

• Check the "operated by" line. The airline that sold the ticket handles changes and compensation; ETF's crew and maintenance fly you.
• On a Croatia Airlines ATR, expect a slower, lower flight. Turboprops cruise lower than jets and feel bumpier in summer afternoon weather over the coast and mountains. That is comfort, not safety.
• Read the record by its length. Five years and five aircraft is a start, not a long track record.

How we scored it

The accident record (86) is clean but short, and oversight (90) is EU-level with 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. The older 737 fleet (55) costs the most. Incidents score 78 for the cabin fire and the engine strike, both well handled, and the changing airports of wet-lease work score 66.