Flybondi

Is Flybondi safe?

Flybondi has had no fatal accident and no written-off aircraft since it began flying in January 2018, but its record is weaker than that of most airlines we cover in South America. Two of its Boeing 737-800s were damaged in tail strikesTail strikeWhen the tail of an aircraft touches the runway during take-off or landing, usually because the nose was raised too far or too early.More in the glossary, and investigations into its first year found gaps in dispatch, training and safety management. Since August 2026 it has not flown at all. We score it 71, below JetSMART (84) and Aerolíneas Argentinas (82), Argentina's other two main airlines.

Is Flybondi flying in 2026?

No. Flybondi cancelled more than a fifth of its flights in the first half of 2026, and in July it operated 134 of 722 scheduled flights. Brazil's aviation authority stopped sales on several Brazilian routes over the cancellations. The last commercial flights ran in early August. On 2 October 2026 FB Líneas Aéreas, the company behind Flybondi, filed for creditor protection with liabilities of about 610 billion pesos. It kept three aircraft in Argentina and returned the rest to their lessors.

Flybondi changed hands in June 2025, when COC Global Enterprise became its majority investor. The same group controls OCA, a courier company that is also in creditor protection, and reports in August 2026 said it was weighing a new brand, OCA Air. If Flybondi flies again, under any name, check this page for an update before you book.

What did investigators find?

The most useful evidence on Flybondi comes from two reports on its first year, written by Argentina's accident board (then the JIAAC, now the JST).

Iguazú, 16 July 2018. As a 737-800 began its take-off roll for Buenos Aires-El Palomar, its nose pitched up without any input and the tail struck the runway. The crew stopped and nobody was hurt, but the aircraft needed repairs. Passengers were not seated where the load sheet said, so the centre of gravity was outside the safe range. Investigators found that seating information reached the dispatcher as phone photos of a check-in screen. The dispatcher had worked 39 hours in 60, and Flybondi had never audited the handling company it hired at Iguazú. It had gone about two months without a safety manager and had no voluntary safety reporting programme. ANAC had made one station inspection at Iguazú since flights began in January, although movements there rose from 32 in June to 136 in July.

Decompression, 17 November 2018. A 737-800 lost cabin pressure at 36,000 feet on its way from Iguazú and the crew descended to 10,000 feet. The final report found the abnormal checklists were in Turkish, German and English, not Spanish as Argentine law requires. The dispatch manual's centre-of-gravity chart was wrong, and the pilots' simulator training did not include decompression or emergency descent.

These findings describe an airline that grew faster than its systems in 2018. ANAC opened seven cases against Flybondi that year, including one for deferring maintenance items outside the rules and one for returning a 737 to service before the manufacturer's instructions were fully done. We found no published outcome.

Accidents and incidents since 2019

The record after 2019 has no deaths and no lost aircraft. But it includes another accident with damage and a 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:

• Mar del Plata, 5 January 2024. Flight FO5720 landed hard and struck its tail. Inspection found torn skin under the rear fuselage and cracked frames, damage the JST classifies as an accident. Its final report is still pending.
• Bariloche, 20 June 2024. A 737-800 from Buenos Aires landed in snow, overran the runway end and stopped with its nose gear on soft ground. The JST classed it as a serious incident.
• Posadas, March 2023. An airspeed indicator failed on final approach, and the crew went around from about 500 feet and landed safely.

We count the two tail strikesTail strikeWhen the tail of an aircraft touches the runway during take-off or landing, usually because the nose was raised too far or too early.More in the glossary in the accident factor and the investigation findings, the Bariloche overrun and the 2018 enforcement cases in serious incidents. Together they put that factor at 55, among the lower scores we give.

What did Flybondi fly?

Second-hand Boeing 737-800s. The two aircraft damaged in tail strikesTail strikeWhen the tail of an aircraft touches the runway during take-off or landing, usually because the nose was raised too far or too early.More in the glossary were both built in 2006. The 737-800 has a strong safety record, but an all-used fleet of an older generation scores 60. In its last season Flybondi also wet-leased 737-800s and Airbus A320s from other airlines. Those were flown by the lessors' crews under their own certificates, so their events would count on the lessors' pages, not here.

How we scored it

No deaths in eight years keeps the accident record at 82, despite two damaged aircraft. Argentine oversight without a confirmed 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 audit scores 70, the older fleet 60, and the investigation findings and 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 55. Patagonian weather gives an environment score of 72. Overall 71. If Flybondi returns, the first thing to check is whether the same certificate and crews fly again, and how ANAC inspects a restart after months on the ground.