EuroAtlantic Airways

Is EuroAtlantic Airways safe?

Yes. EuroAtlantic has flown charters and wet-lease contracts out of Lisbon since 1993 without an accident, it works under European rules, and it has held 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 since 2009. What keeps the score down is the aircraft. Its Boeing 767s, 777s and Airbus A330s average about 21 years, and the airline has a steady record of technical returns, from an engine losing thrust on take-off at São Tomé in 2021 to two aborted Recife to Madrid flights in three days in 2025. We score it 80, one point below Hi Fly, another Lisbon wet-lease company.

Who does EuroAtlantic fly for?

The company was founded in August 1993 as Air Madeira and took the name euroAtlantic Airways in 2000. It became an IATA member in 2010. In 2024 the London investment firm Njord Partners became the majority owner, and in May 2026 Pauls Calitis, formerly chief operating officer of airBaltic, took over as chief executive.

Its customers change every season. In May 2026 five of its jets flew for Brazil's Azul: an A330-200, two 767-300ERs and two 777-200ERs. A 777 later moved to LOT Polish Airlines, and a 767 helped Azores Airlines clear a fog backlog in May 2026. It also flies round-the-world tour charters, football teams and evacuation flights, and its own YU-numbered services to Maceió in Brazil and Bissau in Guinea-Bissau. In late summer 2026 it was so stretched that it hired an A340 from Germany's Universal Sky Carrier, and earlier one from Plus Ultra, to fly some of its own flights. On those flights the other airline's certificate applies.

If your ticket says "operated by EuroAtlantic Airways", or the aircraft registration on a tracker is CS-TS* or CS-TG*, this page covers your flight.

The fleet is the main weakness

EuroAtlantic flew only Boeing aircraft for three decades. In October 2026 its fleet page lists eight jets. The three Boeing 767-300ERs were built in 2002 and 2003, and one of them spent the pandemic in storage before returning in January 2026. The two Boeing 777-200ERs date from 2003 and 2004. The first Airbus, an A330-200 that started with Qatar Airways in 2002, joined in October 2025, and two A330-300s from 2011 arrived in 2026.

Age on its own does not make a jet unsafe, and these types have good records. But older engines and systems fail more often, and EuroAtlantic's incident list reads like that. The airline says it wants at least 12 aircraft by 2030; the newer A330-300s are a step towards a younger fleet.

Engine failures and returns

The most serious event in our 10-year window was at São Tomé on 9 October 2021. A 767-300 with 237 people on board, flying as STP507 to Lisbon, lost thrust on its right engine just after reaching the speed at which a take-off can no longer be stopped. The crew climbed away on one engine, dumped fuel and landed back about two hours and 40 minutes later. São Tomé's investigators traced it to a failed fuel control unit, with a fuel-system seal and several ground wires found out of position.

Other events were handled without harm but form a pattern on old aircraft. In September 2019 a 767 flying for Norwegian declared Mayday over Newfoundland when a cockpit flight-management unit began to smoke, and diverted to Gander. In April 2021 a 777 on a positioning flight from maintenance at Beja reported unreliable airspeed and returned to Lisbon. In July 2018 a 777 flying for Norwegian could not retract its nose gear leaving Paris Orly. And in June 2025, on the launch of Azul's Recife to Madrid route, the same 767 circled off the Brazilian coast and returned to Recife twice in three days. Azul cited technical reasons and changed the aircraft; the cause has not been published. A bird strike that sent a 767 carrying the Cádiz football team to Seville in May 2024 we do not hold against the airline.

Who checks EuroAtlantic?

Portugal's National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) issues the certificate under EASA rules, Portugal has the FAA's 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 rating, and EuroAtlantic is an 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 IATA member. Oversight scores 90, our usual level for EU airlines with IOSA; White Airways, a smaller Lisbon operator, scores a little lower after a 2019 report criticised its training and the oversight of it.

Before you fly EuroAtlantic

• Expect an older cabin. Six of the eight jets were built in 2002 to 2004, and their age shows more in seats and entertainment than in safety; plan for it on a long overnight flight.
• Allow for delays on a new route. Wet-lease aircraft often start a route at short notice, and with eight jets spread over several clients a technical fault can mean a long wait for a replacement.
• Keep the airline that sold your ticket in the loop. Rebooking and compensation run through Azul, LOT or whoever sold the flight.

How we scored it

A clean accident record over three decades (90) and EU oversight 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 (90) carry the score. The fleet (56) averages over 20 years, and incidents (72) reflect the São Tomé engine failure and repeated technical returns. Charter work into West Africa and Brazil puts the environment at 66. Overall 80.