Transavia

Is Transavia safe?

Yes. Transavia has flown for more than 50 years without a fatal accident, and its French sister airline, Transavia France, has the same clean record. Both fly under the EU's EASA rules and Air France-KLM's group oversight. We score it 87, close to KLM and well ahead of Air France.

The catch is a fleet in transition and a short list of recent serious incidents, none of them fatal.

Who flies my Transavia flight?

Two airlines share the green brand:

Airline	Codes	Certificate	Fleet (September 2026)
Transavia (Transavia Airlines C.V.)	HV / TRA	Netherlands	19 Airbus A321neo, 34 Boeing 737-800
Transavia France	TO / TVF	France	31 Airbus A320neo, 68 Boeing 737-800

The Dutch airline is overseen by the Netherlands and Transavia France by France's civil aviation authority, the DGAC. Both countries hold 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 ratings. Your flight number tells you which one you are on: HV for the Dutch airline, TO for the French one. Neither is an IATA member, unlike KLM and Air France, so neither has a 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 audit.

What happened at Nantes in 2022?

On 1 October 2022, Transavia France flight TO3943 from Djerba was landing on runway 21 at Nantes. The co-pilot was flying under supervision as part of line training, with an instructor captain beside him. He began the flare late, and the Boeing 737-800 hit the runway at 2.95 g, bounced, and came down on its nose and right main gear together. Both nose tyres came off and the aircraft slowed on its wheel rims. Nobody was hurt, but the damage was substantial.

The BEA's final report, published in January 2025, found that the runway at Nantes slopes down and then up, and that parts of it exceed certification standards. These problems had never been published, so airlines did not know about them. The slope likely led the co-pilot to misjudge the approach, and the instructor did not address the threats raised in the briefing. The BEA asked the airport operator to publish the non-conformities.

Recent serious incidents

• 31 May 2026, Morocco. A Dutch-registered Transavia 737-800 from Amsterdam to Agadir had an engine failure in flight and diverted. Morocco's investigation office is handling the case; no injuries were reported.
• 29 April 2025, France. A Transavia A321neo flying from Alicante to Amsterdam lost radar contact over France. Air traffic control asked the crew to fly holding circles, and during one of them the aircraft lost separation from a Norwegian Air Sweden 737 MAX. The BEA is investigating it together with two similar cases, looking at the failure of a system called DRAIMS and at how controllers handle aircraft with transponder problems.
• 13 February 2019, off Montenegro. A Transavia France 737-800 from Lyon to Tel Aviv flew into severe clear-air turbulence at 37,000 feet shortly after the crew, warned by air traffic control, switched on the seat-belt signs. Ten people had minor injuries. The BEA said the only real protection is for passengers to keep their belts fastened whenever they are seated.

Is the Transavia fleet old?

Mixed. About 102 of Transavia's roughly 152 aircraft are Boeing 737-800s, a reliable type but one that lacks the 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 controls of newer jets. The rest are Airbus A320neos in France and A321neos in the Netherlands, all delivered in the past few years. Transavia France gets its first A321neo in March 2027, and the group plans to replace the remaining 737s with Airbus aircraft over the next few years.

Running two aircraft families during a transition means extra training and maintenance work. EASA rules cover it, and Air France and KLM went through similar changes, but it is one reason the fleet scores 76.

How to stay safe on Transavia

• Keep your belt fastened, not just low and loose. The 2019 turbulence case shows the seat-belt sign can come on too late.
• Expect a go-around now and then. On short or sloping runways like Nantes, pilots are trained to go around rather than force a landing. It is a normal manoeuvre.
• Check the operator if it matters to you. The HV and TO airlines share procedures through the group, but their fleets differ: France flies the A320neo, the Netherlands the larger A321neo.

How we scored it

The accident record (94) is strong over more than 50 years. Oversight scores 86 because Transavia is not IOSA-registeredIOSAThe 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 as far as we can confirm. The fleet (76) is held back by the 737-800s, and incidents (82) by the Nantes landing and the 2026 engine failure. Compare its sister airline KLM.