Tigerair Taiwan

Is Tigerair Taiwan safe?

Yes. Tigerair Taiwan, the low-cost airline of the China Airlines group, has flown since 2014 without a fatal accident or a lost aircraft, and its only accident in that time was a turbulence injury to a flight attendant. It flies only Airbus A320-family jets, half of them new A320neos. We score it 84, ahead of its parent China Airlines (80), whose older record includes fatal crashes, and below EVA Air (88).

The points it loses come from the last two years: a crew that did not follow its altitude clearance in 2025, a regulator's fine for a boarding error, and a wave of pilot departures that forced flight cuts in 2026.

How is Tigerair Taiwan linked to China Airlines?

China Airlines owned 65.5% of Tigerair Taiwan in March 2026, and Mandarin Airlines, another group airline, held 3.6%; the rest trades on the Taiwan stock exchange. China Airlines managers sit on its board, and many of its executives came from the parent. But Tigerair Taiwan holds its own air operator certificate and flies under its own codes, IT and TTW, with its own crews. Under our rules its record is counted here, not on the China Airlines page, and we checked that the China Airlines page counts no Tigerair event.

What has gone wrong at Tigerair Taiwan?

December 2019, near Miyazaki. Flight IT237 from Hakodate to Taoyuan, an A320, was cruising at 30,000 feet about 100 km north-north-east of Miyazaki when wind shear near the jet stream shook it hard. A flight attendant walking in the aisle fell and was seriously injured; a passenger and two other cabin crew had minor injuries. Japan's investigators, the JTSB, put it down to the wind shear.

August 2025, Taoyuan to Sapporo. On flight IT234 the aircraft deviated from its assigned altitude during cruise because it did not follow the air traffic control clearance. Taiwan's Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) confirmed this, issued a formal warning and ordered the airline to tighten pilot compliance with controllers, crew procedures and crew resource management training. This is the event that weighs most: altitude deviations are how mid-air conflicts begin.

August 2023, Taoyuan. After IT237 landed, the first officer lost consciousness for about seven minutes while the aircraft was leaving the runway. The captain kept control, called the cabin crew for help and asked for an ambulance, and the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board (TTSB) found nothing to fault in that handling. It found no alcohol or drugs and no clear medical cause. The first officer had felt quite tired, and the TTSB noted limits in Tigerair's fatigue model and leave rules that could make tired pilots slow to call in sick at an airline that flies many red-eye and early-morning flights.

December 2025, Kaohsiung. A passenger booked to Tokyo Narita on IT280 boarded IT284 to Osaka because gate staff did not check identity documents properly. The mistake was found when boarding stubs were counted, the passenger was taken off, and the airline reported it. The CAA fined Tigerair Taiwan NT$150,000 in May 2026 under the aviation security rules.

January 2026, pilot departures. Tigerair Taiwan cancelled about 1% of its planned flights, mostly to Japan in spring. The CAA said several pilots had left and that the cut kept the remaining pilots' hours within safe limits, and it asked Taiwan's airlines to leave more slack in their schedules. Cutting flights rather than overworking crews was the right call, but it shows how thin the pilot pool of a 17-aircraft airline can be.

In June 2026 an A320neo on IT234 to Sapporo had an avionics smoke indication and landed safely. On its own it is a minor event.

What does Tigerair Taiwan fly?

At the end of 2025 the fleet was 17 Airbus A320s: nine leased A320ceos and eight A320neos. The ceos date from the airline's early years, and the oldest one we could identify, B-50001, was built in 2014. Seven more A320neos are due to replace the remaining ceos by 2028, and the board has approved 15 A321neos (11 leased, 4 bought) from 2028, when the company expects an average fleet age of 3.1 years. Every aircraft is a fly-by-wireFly-by-wireA flight control system in which the pilot's inputs go to computers, which then move the control surfaces. Many such systems also stop unsafe manoeuvres.More in the glossary Airbus, so the fleet scores well and will improve.

Who oversees Tigerair Taiwan?

Taiwan's Civil Aviation Administration, the same regulator as China Airlines, EVA Air and Starlux. Taiwan has 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 and no airline 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 the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board investigates serious events independently. Taiwan is not an ICAO member, so there is no ICAO audit to check. Tigerair Taiwan is not an IATA member, so we could not confirm 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; that is why its oversight score is below the Taiwanese airlines that have one.

No EASA conflict-zone bulletin covers Taiwan or the Taiwan Strait, so we score the operating environment on weather and airports, like the other Taiwanese airlines.

How to fly Tigerair Taiwan safely

Most Tigerair Taiwan flights go to Japan, often to smaller regional airports such as Hakodate, Hanamaki, Niigata and Sendai, where winter snow and wind can force diversions. Between July and October, typhoons close Taiwanese and Okinawan airports at short notice, so check the airline's flight status before leaving for the airport and rebook rather than wait out a storm. The 2019 injury happened in cruise, at 30,000 feet, so keep your belt fastened whenever you are in your seat.

How we scored it

The accident record (90) is clean of deaths and lost aircraft over 12 years. Oversight (80) reflects Taiwan's regulator without confirmed 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 fleet (84) is all Airbus fly-by-wireFly-by-wireA flight control system in which the pilot's inputs go to computers, which then move the control surfaces. Many such systems also stop unsafe manoeuvres.More in the glossary, with neos replacing the ceos. Serious incidents (74) weigh the 2025 altitude deviation, the CAA fine, the fatigue findings after the 2023 incapacitation and the 2026 staffing cuts. Environment scores 84. Overall 84.