Swiftair

Is Swiftair safe?

Swiftair has a weak record for an airline under EU rules. Its crews were at the controls in two fatal crashes in the last 20 years: Air Algérie flight AH5017 in Mali in 2014, which killed all 116 people on board, and a DHL freighter that crashed short of the runway at Vilnius in November 2024, killing one person. Two more jets have been 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 since 2012. We score it 54.

That record sits on top of a sound framework. Swiftair holds a Spanish certificate under EU rules and is registered with 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). The problem the investigations keep finding is not the rules but how crews were trained and how they flew.

Who flies with Swiftair?

Few people buy a Swiftair ticket. Most of its flying is cargo at night for express companies such as DHL, on Boeing 737 and 757 freighters, A321 freighters and ATR turboprops. It also rents aircraft with crews to other airlines, a wet lease, and operates the ATR 72s of UEP!FLY, a small airline that links Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza. If your booking says "operated by Swiftair", or you fly UEP!FLY, this record applies to you.

Do not confuse it with Swift Air of the United States, which also flew 737s for European holiday airlines, became iAero Airways in 2019 and stopped flying in April 2024 (FreightWaves). That airline's events are not on this page.

Flight AH5017 and the 2026 verdict

On 24 July 2014, Swiftair flew an MD-83 from Ouagadougou to Algiers for Air Algérie, which had hired the aircraft with its Spanish crew for the summer. Climbing past storms over Mali at night, the engines' pressure sensors iced up because engine anti-ice was off. Thrust fell back, the autopilot held altitude as the speed decayed, and the jet stalled and hit the desert near Gossi. All 116 people on board died.

Because Swiftair's certificate and crew flew the aircraft, the crash counts here, not on Air Algérie. On 28 September 2026 a Paris criminal court convicted Swiftair of involuntary homicide and fined it 225,000 euros, the maximum, finding that negligence in training its pilots contributed to the crash.

Vilnius, Montpellier and Kandahar

The more recent accidents follow a pattern of crews missing what the aircraft was telling them.

• Vilnius, November 2024. A 31-year-old 737-400 freighter flying for DHL from Leipzig hit the ground about 1.6 km short of runway 19 and slid into a house; one of the four people on board died. Lithuania's interim report found that one hydraulic system was switched off during descent, the flaps never extended, and the crew were on the wrong radio frequency for the last four miles. Lithuania's prosecutors said in March 2025 that human error was the likely cause. The final report was still due in late 2026.
• Montpellier, September 2022. A 737-400 freighter flying for West Atlantic, now part of the Swiftair group, landed long and fast in heavy rain at night and ran off the runway into a lagoon. France's BEA found the crew changed roles on short final, did not notice a windshear or the long landing, and did not go around. 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.
• Kandahar, January 2012. An MD-83 flown for Gryphon Airlines came in fast and high on an unstable approach; the captain took over and the wingtip hit the ground before the wheels. Spain's CIAIAC found the crew should have gone around, and that Swiftair had neither the approval nor the training for the GPS approach it flew.

A crosswind landing at Palma in 2019, on an ATR 72 flying for Air Europa, also ended in substantial damage; investigators found the crew had not used the manufacturer's technique. In 2011 a parked ATR at Thessaloniki was damaged by a ground handler's loader, which we weigh lightly.

The incidents behind the score

The last 10 years add a run of serious incidents. In September 2017 an ATR 72 flying for Air Europa stalled while climbing through icing out of Alicante and lost height before the crew recovered; the CIAIAC blamed deficient flight management and use of automation. In April 2020 an ATR crew at Cologne lined up on the runway edge lights and started the take-off run, knocking out nine lights. In September 2025 a 737-800 freighter went around at Basel, then descended and accelerated to about 350 knots near hills south of the airport before climbing again. In May 2026 France's BEA opened an investigation after an ATR 72 freighter lost its autopilot and its controls stiffened in storms near Marseille.

How old is the fleet?

Old, as is common for freighter airlines. Swiftair's own fleet page lists 737-300 and 737-400 freighters, Boeing 757-200 freighters, ATR 42s, ATR 72s, Embraer 120s and Metro III turboprops, most of them built in the 1980s and 1990s, plus a smaller number of A321 and 737-800 conversions. It publishes no average age.

Before you board

For a UEP!FLY hop between the Balearic islands, the flight is short and in good weather routine. The risk this page describes is concentrated in night cargo flying. If an airline you booked wet-leases a Swiftair aircraft, the "operated by" line on the booking will say so.

How we scored it

The accident record (42) is the main reason for the low score: two fatal crashes and two more write-offsHull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary in 20 years for a mid-sized fleet. Serious incidents (45) and the old fleet (38) add to it. EU 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 (88) and a mostly European network (72) keep it from falling further.