Sky Airline

Is Sky Airline safe?

Yes. Sky Airline has carried passengers on scheduled routes since 2001 without a fatal accident or a written-off aircraft. Its fleet is now made up only of Airbus A320neo-family jets. The marks against it are old: two Boeing 737-200s damaged in 2012, at a time when Sky still flew 1980s aircraft, one of them because of a badly flown approach. We score Sky 86, just above JetSMART and well above LATAM, whose record includes the 2007 Congonhas crash.

What happened in 2012?

Two accidents, four months apart, both on 737-200s built in 1981.

On 18 July 2012, flight SKU101 from Antofagasta was cleared for a visual approach to runway 30 at La Serena in worsening visibility. Instead of flying the published pattern, the pilot cut a diagonal path and was never lined up with the runway. Over the runway the jet banked right and the wingtip hit the ground. The crew went around and diverted to Copiapó, where the 121 people on board got off unhurt. Chile's DGAC found the cause was an unstabilized approach that the crew should have abandoned.

On 21 November 2012, a 737-200 flying Santiago to Buenos Aires flew into a storm cell after crossing the Andes. Hail broke the radar nose cone, damaged the slats on both wings and let water into the cockpit. It landed safely at Ezeiza. Argentina's investigators, then the JIAAC, cited the crew's use of the weather radar and listed poor aircraft maintenance as a pre-existing condition.

These were the last accidents in Sky's record, and Sky no longer flies the 737-200. They still weigh on the score because both pointed at the airline itself, not at bad luck.

Which Sky airline flies your flight?

This page scores the Chilean airline. Sky Airline Peru has its own certificate and regulator, and we describe it without counting its record here, as we do for LATAM's affiliates. The aircraft registration does not decide this. Under our rules on affiliates and leases, an event counts here only when the Chilean certificate and crew flew it. The March 2021 flight from Arequipa to Lima below used a Chilean-registered jet, but the notification from Peru's investigators names Sky Airline Peru as the operator, so it stays off this page's score.

Since 28 August 2026 Sky has belonged to Abra Group, the owner of Avianca and Gol, after a share exchange approved in Chile, Peru and Brazil.

Sky Airline is on IATA's member list, 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. Sky Airline Peru is not on that list, so we could not confirm its IOSA status. Chile and Peru are both in 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.

Recent serious incidents

• Castro, September 2025. An A320neo from Santiago was descending towards Mocopulli airport on Chiloé when a light aircraft from a local club came closer than recommended. The crew went around, diverted to Puerto Montt and returned later. The DGAC is investigating.
• Santiago, December 2025. An A320neo climbing out for Buenos Aires got an engine warning; the crew declared a Mayday and landed back 15 minutes later.

On the Peruvian side, a Sky Airline Peru A320neo threw the tread of a main-gear tyre on take-off from Arequipa in March 2021. The rubber cracked a hydraulic line, the yellow system drained, and the aircraft stopped on the Lima runway without nose-wheel steering. Peru's investigators rated it a serious incident; it is described here, not counted.

Before the fleet change, older A319s had an engine cowling come off after take-off from Santiago (October 2015), a fuel leak over Mendoza and an in-flight engine shutdown near Lima. None of these hurt anyone. Most of the list is technical, and the crews handled each one by the book, which is why the incidents score is 78.

How modern is the fleet?

Very. Sky took its first A320neo in September 2018, leased from Air Lease Corporation with CFM LEAP engines, and by August 2025 its 36 aircraft were all A320neos and A321neos, according to the company. All are fly-by-wire Airbus jets. Sky expects its first long-range A321XLRs in the last quarter of 2026, starting with Santiago to Punta Cana. The LEAP engines avoid the long inspection groundings that hit Pratt & Whitney GTF operators.

Flying Sky safely

• Expect weather diversions in the south. Puerto Montt, Castro and Punta Arenas often have low cloud, rain and gusty winds. A go-around or a diversion is a sign of a careful crew.
• Keep your belt on across the Andes. The 2012 storm damage happened just after the mountains; turbulence there can be sudden.
• Check the operating airline on Peruvian routes. Domestic flights inside Peru are normally flown by Sky Airline Peru.

How we scored it

The all-neo fleet (92) is the strongest factor, and oversight scores 84 for Chile's 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 regulator 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. The accident record (90) is clean of deaths and losses in 25 years but carries the two 2012 accidents, both repaired, which keeps it below airlines with no damage accident at all. Mostly technical incidents (78) and an Andes and Patagonia network (72) complete the score of 86.