Pegasus Airlines

Is Pegasus Airlines safe?

Mostly yes, but its accident record is weaker than that of the European low-cost airlines it competes with. Pegasus, Türkiye's largest low-cost carrier, flies one of the youngest fleets in Europe and is IOSA-registeredIOSAThe 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. Yet within two years it lost two Boeing 737-800s on landing, and the second accident, at its Istanbul base in February 2020, killed three passengers. We score it 72, with medium confidence because Türkiye's accident investigators publish little.

What happened at Sabiha Gökçen in 2020?

On the evening of 5 February 2020, flight PC2193 from Izmir approached Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen as a thunderstorm passed over the airport. The wind had swung behind the runway in use. The tower told the crew that two aircraft ahead had gone around, one reporting a heavy tailwind, and gave the wind as 270 degrees at 22 knots gusting 37, then cleared them to land.

Transponder data show the Boeing 737-800 crossed the approach fast and touched down about 1,950 metres along a 3,000-metre runway, at about 130 knots over the ground. It left the end of the runway at roughly 60 knots, hit the localizer antenna, crossed a road, dropped about 30 metres down an embankment and broke into three. Three passengers died; 180 of the 183 people on board were taken to hospital.

Turkey's investigation board has not published a final report that we could find. In December 2020 Istanbul prosecutors described an expert report that called the accident "predictable and preventable": a lightning strike earlier in the flight had stressed the captain, the approach was unstable and too fast in a strong tailwind, the autobrakes and speed brakes were switched off too early, and the first officer, with about 400 hours, did not call for a go-around. The tower, which considered the landing risky, was also faulted, and the lack of a runway end safety area made the crash worse.

Just four weeks earlier, on 7 January 2020, another Pegasus 737-800 arriving from Sharjah veered off the same runway in bad weather. All 164 people left by the slides without injury.

Trabzon, 2018

On 13 January 2018, flight PC8622 from Ankara landed at night on a wet runway at Trabzon, on the Black Sea coast. It failed to slow, veered left and slid down a steep slope, stopping with its nose a few metres from the sea and one engine torn off. All 168 people got out, three with minor injuries, but the aircraft 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. The crew told prosecutors that the right engine accelerated unexpectedly during the excursion.

Two hull losses in two years, both 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 in bad weather, is why the accident record scores 63. Since the Basel nose-gear landing in January 2021, the ASN and AeroInside records hold no comparable Pegasus event, which is encouraging but still a short run.

Pegasus has also faced deliberate acts, which we describe but do not count in the accident factor: an attempted hijacking from Kharkiv in February 2014 by a drunk passenger, and a mortar attack on Sabiha Gökçen in December 2015 that damaged a parked Pegasus 737 and fatally injured a ground worker.

How new is the fleet?

Very new. On 30 June 2026 Pegasus flew 131 aircraft: 70 A321neos, 46 A320neos, six older A320s and nine 737-800s. New-generation jets make up 88% of the fleet, which averages 5.5 years, the youngest in Türkiye according to the company. It has 100 Boeing 737 MAX 10s on order for later in the decade.

Who oversees Pegasus?

Türkiye's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (SHGM) certifies Pegasus. Türkiye 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, no Turkish airline 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, and Pegasus is IOSA-registeredIOSAThe 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 through its IATA membership. The weak spot is transparency: Türkiye is outside EASA, and its accident investigators have published few reports, mostly in Turkish only. We know more about PC2193 from prosecutors than from investigators.

Since 2026 Pegasus also owns the Smartwings Group, including Czech Airlines. Those airlines keep their own Czech certificates under EASA rules, and this page scores Pegasus (PC) flights only.

Flying Pegasus: practical points

• Expect diversions in winter storms. Sabiha Gökçen's wind can turn quickly; a go-around or a diversion to Istanbul Airport or Ankara is the right call, not a failure.
• Keep your belt fastened until the aircraft stops. Both hull lossesHull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary happened during the landing roll, not in flight.
• Check who flies your ticket. Smartwings and Czech Airlines flights may now appear on Pegasus bookings, under their own certificates.

How we scored it

A very young fleet (92) and 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 oversight with 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 (80) help. Two runway hull lossesHull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary, one fatal, in 2018 and 2020 hold the accident record at 63, and the run of excursions and the unstable approach behind PC2193 keep incidents at 67. Overall 72, a point above Turkish Airlines and well below Wizz Air (88) and easyJet (89), low-cost rivals with no fatal accident in our window.