Ryukyu Air Commuter (RAC)

Is Ryukyu Air Commuter safe?

Yes. Ryukyu Air Commuter (RAC) connects Okinawa's main island with its smallest inhabited islands, and the Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB) lists no accident on its record in the last 20 years. We score it 85, close to its parent Japan Transocean Air (86). The weak spot is maintenance paperwork. In June 2025 the regulator found that RAC's engineers had been skipping maintenance records for routine fixes and that local managers had let it pass.

Where does RAC fly?

RAC has nine routes and flies more than 40 flights a day. From Naha it serves Kumejima, Yoron, Miyako, Yonaguni and the two Daito islands, Minamidaito and Kitadaito. It also flies Ishigaki to Yonaguni, Miyako to Ishigaki, and Miyako to Tarama. RAC began in 1987 with a nine-seat Islander, took over JTA's Twin Otter routes in 1992 and moved to Dash 8s in 1997. It employs 163 people.

You will not see RAC on your booking. Its flights are sold by JAL and JTA with JTA's NU flight numbers. RAC holds its own certificate, and its own pilots and engineers fly and maintain the aircraft. Investigation reports name RAC as the operator, so this page covers its record, and the JTA page does not count it.

What incidents has RAC had?

The JTSB has investigated one serious incident involving RAC since its records search begins in 2004, and RAC did nothing wrong. On the evening of 14 June 2018, a Dash 8-400 had been cleared to land on runway 36 at Naha when two air force F-15 jets on a scramble rolled onto the same runway without permission. The tower cancelled the landing clearance and told the Dash 8 to keep approaching. The fighters left the runway, and the Dash 8 landed safely about a minute later. The JTSB found the fighter pilots, who were new to Naha, had misread an instruction from the controller.

The Aviation Safety Network database lists no RAC accident at all since it began flying.

Why did the regulator warn RAC?

On 23 November 2024, RAC reported that engineers had checked the nose gear and propellers of a Dash 8 before flight without writing a maintenance record. RAC's own review, and a safety audit by the Osaka Regional Civil Aviation Bureau, found the problem ran wider:

• Engineers did unscheduled repairs without opening a maintenance record.
• Some work was done without referring to the aircraft maintenance manual.
• Engineers certified aircraft as airworthy without checking the paperwork when records were missing.
• Some records for minor work were written after the aircraft had left.

Many engineers believed that work which did not need a legal sign-off did not need a record. Local managers knew this broke the rules but did not fix it or report it. The bureau said that pointed to a safety management system that was not working, and it issued a strict warning on 20 June 2025. RAC sent its report on fixes on 11 July 2025, promising to improve its safety management and the way maintenance work is organised.

The same bureau found a similar problem at Japan Air Commuter in October 2025, and JTA itself received a strict warning over missing maintenance records in January 2026. No accident has been linked to any of the three cases.

What does RAC fly?

Five Dash 8-400 Cargo Combis, delivered from April 2016 to February 2018. They have 50 seats instead of the usual 74, so the cargo hold can carry fish, fruit and daily goods to the islands, which matters most after typhoons stop the ships. The Dash 8-400 is a proven type, but it is no longer built and its design is older than the ATR -600 series. RAC is replacing all five with refurbished Dash 8-400s that come with new engines, propellers and cabins under a manufacturer warranty. Their registrations were reserved in July 2026.

How to fly RAC safely

Plan around the weather, not the aircraft. Flights to Minamidaito and Kitadaito cross about 360 km of open sea to islands with small airports, and Yonaguni is exposed to strong winds. Typhoons from about June to October can cut the islands off for days. Book the first flight of the day when you can, keep a spare day before any onward connection from Naha, and keep your seat belt fastened on these bumpy sea crossings.

How we scored it

The accident record (94) is clean, but the volume is too small for the top band. Japan's oversight (86) is strong, without 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. Serious incidents (76) reflect the 2025 maintenance warning. The fleet (74) is a single type built in 2016–2018 and due for replacement, and the remote island network scores 74. Overall 85.