Iberia

Is Iberia safe?

Yes. Iberia has gone more than 40 years without a fatal accident, and it is overseen within the EU's aviation safety system. We score it 84. That is a little below its IAG sister British Airways and close to Vueling. The points it loses come from two aircraft 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 in 2007 and 2008, an older group of A320s and A321s, and a run of 2026 events that are under investigation.

Iberia's accident record

Iberia's worst years were the 1970s and 1980s. The last fatal crash was on 19 February 1985: IB610, a Boeing 727 from Madrid, descended below the minimum safe altitude on approach to Bilbao and hit an antenna mast on Mount Oiz. All 148 people on board died. Investigators found that the crew misread an altitude alert.

No one has died in an Iberia accident since. An A320 was 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 after a hard landing in wind shear at Bilbao in 2001, and two parked MD-88s were written off after airport buses drove into their wings at Madrid (2005) and Barcelona (2007). Two aircraft have been lost in flight operations in the last 20 years, also without deaths:

• Quito, 9 November 2007. An Airbus A340-600 landed on a wet runway with poor braking reported, touched down hard, burst two tyres and overran the end of runway 35 at about 90 knots. All 359 people on board survived. Ecuador's investigators blamed the crew's decision to keep going with the runway, weather and weight as they were. The aircraft was broken up.
• Vienna, 31 July 2008. An MD-88 lost power on its left engine during take-off. The crew shut the engine down and worked through a landing-gear warning before returning to the airport. All 122 people on board survived, but the aircraft was written off.

What happened in 2026?

Three events in 2026 have made the news:

• 10 July, over the Atlantic. An Iberia A321 heading north-east and an Air Europa Boeing 787-9 coming the other way were at the same flight level on the same oceanic airway near the Canary Islands. Both aircraft's collision-avoidance systems issued opposite instructions; Iberia descended 500 feet and Air Europa climbed 400. Spain's CIAIAC is investigating (IN-017/2026). The controllers' union said it showed weak radar and radio coverage in oceanic sectors, which points more to air traffic control than to Iberia.
• 4 June, Guayaquil. An A350's wingtip was hit by a fire truck's water cannon during a water salute before departure for Madrid, and the flight was cancelled, AeroTime reported.
• 1 August, Split. An A320 from Madrid damaged its nose gear and burst both nose tyres on landing. No one was hurt. Croatia's investigators classified it as a serious incident.

Turbulence is the other recurring theme. On 30 May 2025, an Iberia Express A320 from Madrid to Palma hit turbulence at 32,000 feet while cabin crew were standing on service; two were seriously hurt. A similar event on an Iberia A320 near Barcelona in August 2020 injured a crew member who hit a galley counter.

How old is Iberia's fleet?

It is split in two. The long-haul fleet is mostly modern: Iberia had 22 Airbus A350-900s in mid-2025, and in November 2024 it became the first airline to fly the A321XLR, which it uses on some transatlantic routes. Its 29 A330s are mid-life. The short-haul fleet is where the age is: according to Travel Extra, its A320s averaged 17.9 years and its A321ceos 21.3 years in 2025, alongside newer A320neos and A321neos. Iberia does not publish one average age. Its plan to 2030 adds A350s and more neos, and it says it will grow the long-haul fleet from 45 to 70 aircraft.

Iberia, Iberia Express and Air Nostrum

Three airlines fly under IB flight numbers, and they hold separate certificates:

• Iberia flies long-haul and some European routes from Madrid.
• Iberia Express (I2) is a wholly owned low-cost subsidiary with A320s and A321neos, mainly on Spanish domestic routes, the Canary and Balearic Islands and European cities. It is included in this page and score.
• Air Nostrum flies Iberia Regional routes as a franchise with ATR and CRJ aircraft. It is a separate company; its record is not in this score.

Tips for flying Iberia

• Book the A350 or A321XLR on transatlantic routes if you want the newest aircraft; the A330-200s are older.
• Keep your belt fastened. Both recent turbulence injuries happened to crew who were standing; seated passengers with belts on are rarely hurt.
• Know that high-altitude airports are different. Quito and Bogotá sit well above 2,000 metres, where aircraft land faster and need more runway; delays or diversions in bad weather there are a safety choice.

How we scored it

The accident record (88) and EU oversight (90) carry the score. The older short-haul aircraft hold the fleet factor at 72, and the 2025 and 2026 events keep incidents at 80. We rate confidence medium because Iberia does not publish a fleet age and the 2026 investigations are open.