LATAM Airlines

Is LATAM safe?

Yes, by Latin American and world standards, with two caveats. LATAM is not one airline but six, each holding its own air operator certificate under its own national regulator. And its history includes one of the deadliest crashes in Brazil: TAM 3054 at São Paulo-Congonhas in 2007, which killed 199 people. Since then the group's fatal events have been a fire truck that drove onto the runway at Lima in 2022, a pilot who died of a medical problem at the controls in 2023 and a passenger who fell while leaving an aircraft in 2026. We score LATAM 73.

Which LATAM airline flies your flight?

Airline	Codes	Certificate and regulator	Mainly flies
LATAM Airlines Group (LATAM Chile)	LA / LAN	Chile, DGAC (part of the Chilean Air Force)	A320 family, 767, 787
LATAM Airlines Brasil (ex-TAM)	JJ / TAM	Brazil, ANAC	A319, A320, A321, 777-300ER
LATAM Airlines Peru	LP / LPE	Peru, DGAC (Ministry of Transport)	A319, A320, A320neo
LATAM Airlines Colombia	4C / ARE	Colombia, Aerocivil	A320 family
LATAM Airlines Ecuador	XL / LNE	Ecuador, DGAC	A319, A320

LATAM Airlines Paraguay (PZ) and the two cargo airlines are not covered here. Many flights carry an LA number even when an affiliate operates them, so check "operated by" on your booking.

The good news is that the group runs one safety management system across all six. In 2025 IATA audited every LATAM operator in a single risk-based 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, a first for an airline group according to LATAM's 2025 annual report, and placed the group at the "Mature" level. All five main home countries hold 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. None 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.

What happened on TAM 3054?

On 17 July 2007 an Airbus A320 from Porto Alegre landed in rain on Congonhas' main runway, which had been resurfaced weeks earlier but not yet grooved. One thrust reverser was switched off under the minimum equipment list. The crew pulled one thrust lever into reverse but left the other in the climb position. That engine kept pushing, the ground spoilers stayed down, and the autobrake never engaged. The aircraft crossed the end of the 1,940-metre runway, flew over a main avenue and hit a TAM cargo building and a petrol station. All 187 on board and 12 people on the ground died.

Brazil's investigators (CENIPA) said pilot training at the fast-growing TAM had relied on computer-based courses and been cut short. It was TAM's second fatal crash at Congonhas in eleven years: a Fokker 100 crashed into houses after takeoff in October 1996, killing everyone aboard and people on the ground.

The record since the LAN-TAM merger

LAN and TAM merged into LATAM in 2012. Since then:

• Congonhas, September 2018. An empty LATAM Brasil A320 rolled backwards into trees while being towed and 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. No one was hurt.
• Lima, November 2022. LATAM Peru flight 2213, an A320neo, was accelerating for takeoff when an airport fire truck on a drill drove onto the runway. The aircraft was written off; the 108 people aboard survived, but three firefighters died. Peru's investigators (CIAA) blamed the airport operator's planning and radio phraseology, not the airline.
• Tasman Sea, March 2024. A Boeing 787-9 dropped suddenly an hour before Auckland after the captain's seat moved forward. Thirteen people were injured.
• Runway overrunsRunway 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. An A319 overran in a thunderstorm at Chapecó in March 2025, an A320 slid 15 metres past the end of a snow-covered runway at Balmaceda in July 2026, and another A320 went off the runway at Cascavel in August 2026. None caused injuries; all are under investigation.
• Congonhas, May 2026. A passenger fell while leaving an A319 at the stand and died two days later. Under ICAO rules this is an accident, but it says little about how the aircraft is flown.

LATAM went through Chapter 11 bankruptcy from May 2020 to November 2022. We found no sign that the restructuring cut into maintenance; the fleet kept growing with new A320neos and 787s.

How modern is the fleet?

LATAM flew 351 passenger jets at the end of 2025, with an average age of 11.9 years. Almost all are fly-by-wireFly-by-wireA flight control system in which the pilot's inputs go to computers, which then move the control surfaces. Many such systems also stop unsafe manoeuvres.More in the glossary Airbus A320-family jets or Boeing 787s and 777s. The oldest are 39 A319s (17.4 years) and nine 767s (17.6 years). New A320neos, 787-9s and, from late 2026, Embraer E2s are on order.

How to fly LATAM safely

• Keep your belt on in the seat. On the Tasman Sea flight the aircraft was in smooth air at cruise height when it dropped; the people hurt were those not strapped in.
• Expect diversions in bad weather. Congonhas, Chapecó and the Patagonian airports have short or contaminated runways in rain and snow. A crew that goes around or diverts is doing the right thing.
• Hold the handrail on stairs and jet bridges, especially at airports where you leave by stairs onto the apron.

How we scored it

The accident record (70) carries TAM 3054 and the 2022 Lima collision. Oversight scores well (84) because every operator passed 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, but serious incidents (64) are held down by repeated runway overrunsRunway 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 and the 2024 upset. Compare Avianca, LATAM's main rival in Colombia, and Gol, its competitor in Brazil.