flydubai

Is flydubai safe?

Mostly yes, with two serious marks on its record. flydubai, Dubai's government-owned low-cost airline, flies a young fleet of Boeing 737s under a regulator with FAA 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 status. But on 19 March 2016 one of its jets crashed at Rostov-on-Don in Russia, killing all 62 people on board, and on 30 September 2026 a fight between the two pilots of flight FZ1073 put a 737 MAX into a steep dive over Saudi Arabia. We score it 73, the same as Turkish Airlines and below the other Gulf carriers.

What happened on FZ981 at Rostov-on-Don?

Flight FZ981 left Dubai in the evening of 18 March 2016 for Rostov-on-Don. It arrived in the night in strong, gusty wind with turbulence and wind shear on the approach. The crew went around once, held for about two hours, and tried again. During the second go-around, the Boeing 737-800 pitched down steeply and hit the runway area at high speed. All 55 passengers and 7 crew died.

Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee published its final report in November 2019. It found that the crew mixed elements of two go-around procedures, the aircraft ended up at maximum thrust in an unusual configuration, and the captain may have experienced spatial disorientation, believing the nose was higher than it was. Wind shear contributed. Fatigue was considered, but the report found both pilots had enough rest before the flight. Investigators asked Boeing to make clearer which go-around procedure to use. flydubai accepted the conclusions and said it had already gone beyond the recommendations.

This is the only fatal accident in flydubai's history and the main reason its accident record scores 66.

What happened on flight FZ1073?

On 30 September 2026, FZ1073, a 737 MAX 8 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, was about two and a half hours into the flight over Saudi Arabia when a fight broke out on the flight deck. Saudi authorities said preliminary findings showed the first officer had assaulted the captain and that both men were injured. Israeli officials said the aircraft dropped from about 33,000 to 17,000 feet within a minute. Passengers, including off-duty pilots, helped restrain the first officer and bring the aircraft under control, and it landed at Tabuk about an hour after the emergency call.

The GCAA said on 2 October that the injured captain was back in the UAE and in good condition, praised the crew and passengers, and said a team from the UAE Public Prosecution was investigating. It declined to comment on other claims, including the Israeli account that the first officer tried to crash the aircraft. Until investigators publish their findings, we treat the event as a serious incident, and it is the main reason flydubai's incidents factor scores 64.

One older event is worth knowing: on 26 January 2015, FZ215 was hit by small-arms fire on approach to Baghdad. It landed safely.

A young, single-type fleet

flydubai's fleet is a strength. At the end of 2025 it had 97 Boeing 737s with an average age of 5.5 years, according to its annual results. It took 12 new 737 MAX 8s in 2025, returned three older 737-800s to lessors, and expects seven MAX 9s in 2026. At the Dubai Airshow in November 2025 it announced orders for 75 more 737 MAX and 150 Airbus A321neos, so the all-Boeing fleet will become a two-type fleet later in the decade. For now, flying one type keeps pilot training and maintenance simple.

Oversight and where flydubai flies

The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority holds FAA 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 status, and no UAE airline is on the EU Air Safety ListEU Air Safety ListThe European Commission's list of airlines banned or restricted from flying in EU airspace because they do not meet international safety standards.More in the glossary. flydubai is an IATA member and so 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.

The network is the weakest factor. flydubai flies to many airports other airlines skip: Iraq, the wider Middle East, Central Asia, Russia, East Africa and South Asia, where terrain, weather and air traffic services vary widely. In 2026 the Iran war also closed its home base. When the UAE partly reopened its airspace on 2 March, Dubai's airports stayed closed, and the GCAA lifted the last war-time restrictions only in early May.

How to fly flydubai safely

• Check flydubai's travel updates before you leave, especially on routes to Iraq, Iran, Israel and the Levant, where airspace can close at short notice.
• Look at the operator on an Emirates ticket. Short flights sold with an EK number are often flown by flydubai 737s.
• Keep your belt fastened when seated, and follow crew instructions quickly in any diversion or evacuation.

How we scored it

A young fleet (88) and an FAA 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 regulator (90) help. The 2016 Rostov crash (accident record 66), the FZ1073 cockpit assault (incidents 64) and a difficult network (environment 60) pull the score down to 73. For the long-haul sister airline, see Emirates.