Sichuan Airlines

Is Sichuan Airlines safe?

Yes. Sichuan Airlines, based in Chengdu, has never had a fatal accident or lost an aircraft, and it says it has flown safely for 37 years with what is now an all-Airbus fleet of more than 200 jets. It is overseen by the same regulator as Air China and China Southern and passes the IATA safety audit. We score it 84.

It is best known for a flight that nearly went wrong. In 2018 a cockpit windshield blew out at cruising altitude over the mountains of western Sichuan, and the crew landed safely. That event, and how little China's regulator publishes about others, are what hold the score below the top band.

What happened on 3U8633?

On 14 May 2018 an Airbus A319, registration B-6419, left Chongqing for Lhasa with 119 passengers and 9 crew. At 9,800 m the crew saw a mesh of cracks in the right windshield and got a windshield heating warning. Seconds later there was a bang, and about half a minute after that the windshield blew out.

The next minutes were chaotic. The cabin altitude rose to about 26,000 ft. Both DC buses went offline, the autopilot and autothrust dropped out, several flight control computers failed and the aircraft rolled as far as 51 degrees left. The noise was so loud the crew could not talk to air traffic control and signalled the emergency on the transponder. The captain hand-flew the jet down, holding above the minimum safe altitude of about 7,100 m until it was clear of the mountains, and landed at Chengdu. The first officer had scratches and a strained back, and one flight attendant was hurt.

China's Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) published its final report, in Chinese only, in June 2020. It found that the seal of the original windshield had probably been damaged, letting moisture collect inside. Over time the insulation of the heating wires broke down, an electric arc formed, and its heat cracked both layers of glass. The CAAC rated the event a serious incident. The cause lay in the windshield, not in how the aircraft was flown, and the crew's handling is widely seen in the industry as a model. China later made a film of it.

What other incidents has Sichuan had?

None with serious injuries that we could find, but several worth knowing:

• Wuxi, September 2010. An A319 intercepting the approach in a thunderstorm hit a microburst. Speed fell to 74 knots, the aircraft rolled to 44 degrees and sank, and the crew recovered at about 880 ft above sea level, climbed away and diverted to Ningbo. The CAAC blamed the crew's decision to press on while aircraft ahead diverted, and their handling of the upset.
• Over Myanmar, May 2017. A Sichuan A330 bound for Dubai took a descent instruction meant for another aircraft and descended into the level of an oncoming China Southern A319, which had to turn away. Myanmar's investigators blamed careless radio listening by both the controller and the Sichuan pilot.
• Engine shutdowns. An A330-200 shut down an engine on approach to Chengdu in January 2022 (some Chinese sources said both engines failed briefly; the airline did not confirm this). In 2024 an A321neo's engine failed with flames after take-off from Changchun, and an A320 shut down an engine and diverted to Ningbo. All landed safely.
• Harbin, March 2024. Both generators on an A320 failed in descent, putting the aircraft in emergency electrical mode until one reset.

Engine failures in climb happen at every large airline and the crews handled them by the book. Wuxi and Myanmar are different: in both, investigators pointed at decisions or radio discipline in Sichuan's cockpit.

Who oversees Sichuan Airlines?

The CAAC. China holds 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 in the FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment (April 2025 list), no Chinese 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 (June 2026), and China told the ICAO Assembly that its 2024 ICAO audit gave it an effective implementationICAO USOAPICAO's audit of how well each country's aviation regulator oversees safety. The result is an "effective implementation" percentage.More in the glossary score of 90.19%. Sichuan is an IATA member, which requires an 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. As for other Chinese airlines, we score oversight 80, because the CAAC publishes few investigation reports and usually only in Chinese, and has released no update since March 2024 on the 2022 China Eastern crash.

What does Sichuan Airlines fly?

Only Airbus aircraft: A319s, A320s and A321s in both the older ceo and new neo versions, and A330s and A350-900s for long-haul routes to Europe, North America and Australia. The first A350 arrived in 2018, from a planned 14. Sichuan does not publish a fleet table or average age on its website, and we found no filing that gives one, so the fleet score rests on the type mix rather than on age.

How to fly Sichuan Airlines safely

Sichuan's network is harder than most. Chengdu's two airports and Chongqing sit in a basin prone to fog and summer storms, and many routes cross high mountains or land on the Tibetan plateau, where airports such as Lhasa sit at about 3,600 m. If a flight to Lhasa is delayed or turned back for weather, that is the system working. Keep your belt fastened in cruise: over the mountains, turbulence can come without warning.

How we scored it

The accident record (95) is the main strength: no fatal accident and no lost aircraft. Serious incidents (70) and environment (70) are the weak spots, reflecting 3U8633, the 2017 loss of separationLoss of separationWhen two aircraft come closer to each other than the minimum distance air traffic rules require. A reported near miss in the UK is called an airprox.More in the glossary and a mountainous network. Oversight and fleet both score 80. Overall 84, close to Hainan Airlines.