Nauru Airlines

Is Nauru Airlines safe?

Yes, with two caveats. Nauru Airlines has no fatal accident and has never 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 an aircraft in the Aviation Safety Network record, it holds IOSA registrationIOSAThe 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, and its Boeing 737s are on the Australian register, so Australia's investigators look into its incidents. The caveats are an old fleet and a network of remote atolls where a pilot has few places to divert. We score it 80.

Few people fly it by choice. It is the main link to Nauru, Tarawa in Kiribati, Majuro in the Marshall Islands, Pohnpei in Micronesia and Kiritimati, and on many of those routes there is no alternative.

A Brisbane airline with Pacific routes

Nauru Air Corporation is owned by the government of Nauru but has its main place of business in Brisbane. It has flown on an Australian air operator's certificate since 1996, so the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) oversees it, IATA lists it under Australia, and the ATSB, not a Pacific island authority, investigated its most serious recent incident. Australia holds FAA IASAFAA 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 Category 1, and its investigators publish detailed reports. The airline added an IOSA registrationIOSAThe 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 in August 2024. That is a stronger setup than most Pacific island airlines have, and the oversight factor scores 92, the same as Qantas.

The airline also flies cargo and wet-lease work. In 2018 one of its 737-300 freighters was flying for Air Niugini, and in 2020 one flew a Qantas-numbered flight from Brisbane to Townsville. Under our rules, events on those flights count here, because Nauru Airlines' crew and certificate flew them.

The 2015 Kosrae approach

On 12 June 2015, on the first scheduled flight into Kosrae, a Nauru Airlines 737-300 flew a non-precision approach at night in worsening weather. The crew had not completed the approach checklist, so the altimeters still showed the standard setting instead of the local pressure, and the aircraft descended well below the 500-foot minimum. The ground proximity system sounded; the crew believed it was a navigation fault, silenced the first warning and did not correct the flight path until they lost sight of the runway. They then went around.

The ATSB found that the captain was fatigued, that recurrent training had not included full-thrust go-arounds in the 737-300, and that the airline had started regular flights into Kosrae with only an offset non-precision approach, high terrain close to the runway and no control tower. Nobody was hurt, and it falls outside our 10-year window for incidents, but it is the event that best shows the risks of this network.

Incidents since 2016

The public record since then is short and minor. In April 2018 a 737-300 freighter flying for Air Niugini twice had to descend and return to Brisbane because it could not hold cabin pressure. In 2020 a 737-300 hit a flock of birds on take-off from Brisbane and returned, and in 2021 an engine on flight ON1 from Nauru had a series of compressor stalls on approach to Brisbane; the crew landed normally. None caused injury.

How old are Nauru Airlines' planes?

Older than most. The fleet list on the airline's site shows four passenger jets: two Boeing 737-300s (VH-PNI and VH-XNU), a 737-700 and a 737-800, plus two 737-300 freighters and a 737-800 freighter. The 737-300 was last built around 2000, so both passenger Classics are more than 25 years old. The 737-800, VH-AN2, arrived second-hand in January 2024, and the chairman said the two Classics would also be replaced in time, without a date.

The 737 Classic is a sound type with a long record, but it lacks the avionics and efficiency of the 737 NG, and old airframes need more maintenance. The fleet factor scores 55.

Tips for flying Nauru Airlines

• Plan for few flights. Many island routes run once or twice a week. A cancellation can mean days of waiting, so book refundable onward travel.
• Expect weather turn-backs. Small atoll airports have few alternates, and a crew that turns back or holds in a storm is doing the right thing.
• Check the aircraft on long sectors. The 737-700 and 737-800 are newer than the two 737-300s; the schedule does not always say which one you get, but it is worth asking for long routes.

How we scored it

Oversight (92) and the accident record (88) are the strongest factors: no accidents, Australian oversight 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. Incidents (78) are minor since 2016. The fleet (55) is the weakest factor, and the island network (64) costs points too. Compare Fiji Airways at 85 and Solomon Airlines at 71.