Nouvelair

Is Nouvelair safe?

Yes, on the evidence that matters most. Nouvelair has flown since 1990 without a fatal accident or a written-off aircraft, it passes the IATA safety audit (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), and it flies freely into the European Union. We score it 77, a little above Tunisair (74) and below Royal Air Maroc (82).

The catch is recent. In September 2025 one of its Airbus A320s came in to land at Nice on the wrong runway at night and passed over an easyJet jet that was waiting on it. France's accident investigators (BEA) are still working on that case, and it is the main reason the score is not higher.

What happened at Nice in September 2025?

Flight BJ586 from Tunis was cleared to land on runway 04L at Nice at about 23:30 local time, with thunderstorms around the airport. The approach from the sea ends with a visual turn onto the runway; the pilot flying took over by hand, turned right and rolled out lined up with the parallel runway 04R. At the same moment the tower told an easyJet A320 bound for Nantes to line up on 04R and wait.

The airport's ground radar warned the tower of the conflict twice. About half a mile out, the controller confirmed runway 04L, and the Nouvelair crew replied that they were on short final for 04L. They were not. According to the BEA's preliminary report, the aircraft's radio altimeter read 39 feet and then 10 feet for a second as it passed over the easyJet jet, before the crew began a go-around. Its wheels never touched the runway, and it landed on 04L 15 minutes later. Nobody was hurt.

The BEA's progress report of September 2026 says it is looking at crew and controller training, the approach procedure and how the lighting of the two runways looks at night, and it re-flew the approach in January 2026. Until the final report is out, the blame is not settled. Even so, lining up with an occupied runway is among the most serious errors a crew can make, and it weighs on the incident factor.

What else is in the incident record?

The rest of the last ten years is less dramatic but worth knowing:

• Algiers, July 2025. A Nouvelair A320neo from Tunis and a Domestic Airlines (then Tassili Airlines) 737-800 lost separation in a holding pattern at 13,000 feet. Algeria's investigation office rated it a serious incident. The cause is not public, so we give it less weight.
• Alghero, February 2022. The same A320 diverted to Sardinia with smoke in the cabin on two days running. A repeat on the same aircraft raises a question about how the first fault was fixed.
• Lyon, June 2021. The cabin lost pressure in the climb, and the crew made an emergency descent and returned.
• Over Croatia, June 2025. An engine lost oil and failed on a flight from Monastir to Katowice, and the crew diverted to Rome.

Tunisia's own investigators publish little, so most of this list comes from European records. Domestic and charter incidents in Tunisia may not show up at all, which is why we do not treat a short list as a clean one.

How old is the Nouvelair fleet?

Nouvelair flies only one type, the Airbus A320 family, and the company lists 17 aircraft in 2026. A single type keeps training and maintenance simple. Almost all are older A320ceos; Airliner World counted two newer A320neos in August 2025. Nouvelair does not publish an average age, and some of its A320ceos are from the 2000s, so we score the fleet as sound but not young.

Nouvelair also hires out aircraft with crews to other airlines (its company site lists this ACMI work). Under our rules any event on those flights counts here, because Nouvelair's certificate and crews fly them.

Flying Nouvelair: what to know

• Expect a leisure schedule. Much of the flying is summer charter and holiday traffic to Monastir and Djerba. Late-evening arrivals and long turnarounds are normal.
• Check who operates a package flight. Tour operators sell Nouvelair seats under their own names. The booking or ticket should name Nouvelair and its BJ flight number.
• Use EU passenger rights. On flights from an EU airport, EU261 covers Nouvelair for long delays and cancellations.

How we scored it

The accident record (92) is the strongest factor: 36 years without a fatal accident or a written-off aircraft. 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 keeps oversight at 70 under a regulator that publishes little. The Nice near-collision and a run of technical diversions hold incidents at 60, and an older single-type A320 fleet scores 66, bringing Nouvelair to 77. For the regional airline of the national group, see Tunisair Express.