Jazeera Airways

Is Jazeera Airways safe?

Yes. Kuwait's low-cost airline has flown for about 20 years without an accident, a death or a lost aircraft, and it flies only Airbus A320-family jets. We score it 82, one point below Kuwait Airways (83), which shares its regulator and home airport, and close to Air Arabia (83).

Its record is not spotless. In 2017 an A320 flew into a military balloon cable while it waited to land at Kuwait, and in 2018 an engine caught fire after landing in India. The bigger concern in 2026 is the base: Kuwait closed its airspace for eight weeks after the war with Iran began, and drones have struck Kuwait airport twice.

What is the most serious thing that has happened to Jazeera?

The balloon strike. On 27 August 2017, flight J9 787 from Riyadh was told to hold at 5,000 feet near Kuwait because another aircraft with a medical emergency had priority. In the hold, the right engine of the A320 hit the cable of a military captive balloon that rose to about 5,000 feet. The balloon deflated and fell. The crew saw no abnormal engine readings and landed normally, but inspectors found a sliced engine inlet and serious damage along the cowling.

Kuwait's civil aviation authority rated it a serious incident and opened an investigation. The holding pattern ATC had assigned was not published in Kuwait's charts, and the balloon flew in a restricted zone 6 nautical miles from it. That points more at airspace management than at the crew. We have not found a final report.

Engine fire and other incidents

• Hyderabad, August 2018. After flight J9 608 landed with 145 people on board, flames came from the right engine's exhaust as it slowed. The crew stopped on the taxiway, shut the engine down and evacuated through the left doors. No one was hurt. Jazeera called it a brief tailpipe flare.
• Germany, October 2021. An A320neo flying to London lost radio contact with air traffic control over Germany. Two Eurofighters were sent to intercept it, and their sonic booms were heard around Frankfurt before contact was restored.

The rest of the record is minor: a tyre burst on take-off from Dubai in 2012 and a bird strike at Kuwait in 2024. We found no runway excursionsRunway 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, regulator fines or groundings. Kuwait publishes few investigation reports in English, so we do not treat a short list as proof of a clean one.

What does Jazeera fly?

Only the Airbus A320 family. In 2025 the fleet was about two dozen aircraft, a mix of older A320ceos and newer A320neos; Jazeera does not publish the split or an average age, so we score on the types. A 26-aircraft order for A320neos and A321neos was due to start arriving in 2026, with three this year, and the airline wants about 50 aircraft in the coming years. Both versions have a strong record; the neo is simply newer.

Is it safe to fly Jazeera during the Iran conflict?

Expect disruption, and check the airport. Kuwait closed its airspace on 28 February 2026, when a drone struck Terminal 1. Jazeera kept flying by moving to Saudi Arabia: it ran flights from Dammam and from Qaisumah, and took passengers there by bus from Kuwait. Direct flights from Jazeera's own Terminal 5 restarted on 26 April, three days after Kuwait reopened its airspace, and the Saudi bases closed in early May.

The airport was hit again on 3 June. On 6 June Kuwait closed its airspace overnight during another attack, and 11 Jazeera and Kuwait Airways flights diverted. EASA's bulletin CZIB-2026-07R3, valid to 16 November 2026, covers the Kuwait FIR and advises European airlines to avoid the Gulf waters except to land or take off. Jazeera's short-haul network also reaches Beirut, Damascus, Cairo and South Asia. The Kuwait country page follows the wider situation.

Flying Jazeera: practical points

• Check the departure point. When Kuwait closed, Jazeera moved flights to Saudi airports with a bus leg. It could happen again.
• Watch for messages on the day. Short airspace closures during attacks divert flights with little warning.
• Book through the airline if you can. Rebooking after a war-time cancellation is easier when the booking is direct.

How we scored it

The accident record (92) is clean over about 20 years, and oversight (80) rests on Kuwait's 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 and 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, held down because Kuwait publishes few investigation reports. The fleet (84) is one modern family, with a share of older ceos. Incidents (76) include the balloon strike, the engine fire and a radio loss. The environment (48) is the weakest factor because of the eight-week closure and the strikes on Kuwait airport. Overall 82.