TUI Airways

Is TUI Airways safe?

Yes. TUI Airways has not had a fatal accident or lost an aircraft since 1999, it flies under the UK Civil Aviation Authority, and its fleet of Boeing 737s and 787s is fairly modern. We score it 85, just below Jet2, its closest rival on UK holiday flights.

What holds it back is a cluster of serious incidents. Between 2020 and 2024 the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch looked at several TUI flights where weight, thrust or flight path went wrong, and in most of them crews, procedures or the airline's own systems played a part.

Which TUI is this?

This page covers TUI Airways Limited, the British airline with the code BY. It is the same registered company as Britannia Airways, which was renamed Thomsonfly in 2005. In 2008 it merged with First Choice Airways (formerly Air 2000) to form Thomson Airways, and in 2017 it took the TUI name. Companies House shows one registration number throughout.

TUI Group has four other airlines, each on its own certificate. TUIfly (X3) flies from Germany. TUI fly Belgium (TB) flies from Belgium, TUI fly Netherlands (OR) from Amsterdam with 737s and four 787s, and TUIfly Nordic (6B) from Scandinavia with 737 MAX jets. In busy summers TUI also hires aircraft with crews from other airlines; then the operating airline's own certificate applies.

TUI Airways' accident history

The last fatal accident came on 14 September 1999. A Britannia Boeing 757 from Cardiff was landing at Girona at night in a thunderstorm after a missed approach. Below decision height the approach became unstable, the runway lights failed and the aircraft hit the runway nose-first at 3.1 g. It bounced, ran across grass and an earth bank and broke apart in a field. One passenger, discharged from hospital the next day, died five days later of internal injuries. Spain's CIAIAC blamed the destabilised approach and the loss of visual references. The crash lies outside our 20-year window, but it counts as the airline's own history.

The worst accident was much earlier. In 1966 a Britannia Bristol Britannia crashed approaching Ljubljana, killing 98 of the 117 on board.

Since 1999 nobody has died on a TUI Airways flight. In October 2010 a Boeing 767 from Cancún landed hard at Bristol in low cloud and was damaged, then repaired. On 27 June 2026 a 737-800 from Dublin touched down at Palma, went around and struck its tail. It landed safely on the parallel runway and was still on the ground two days later; the extent of the damage has not been published.

Which incidents should passengers know about?

The AAIB reports since 2020 show a pattern of take-off and go-around errors:

• Birmingham, July 2020. After a reservation system upgrade during the pandemic, women checked in as "Miss" were counted as children. With 38 of them on board, the 737 was 1,244 kg heavier than its load sheet said.
• Aberdeen, September 2021. During a go-around flown by hand, the 737 climbed, then descended at up to 3,100 ft/min and sped up to 286 knots against the 200 selected. The crew had flown little during the pandemic and were overloaded.
• October 2023. A crew left both engine bleed air systems off, so the 737 did not pressurise. The cabin altitude warning sounded for 43 minutes and the pilots did not put on oxygen masks.
• Bristol, March 2024. The autothrottle dropped out at the start of the take-off roll. The crew took off at 84.5% thrust instead of 92.8%, lifted off near the end of the runway and set full thrust only at 450 feet. The AAIB traced the disconnect to a known low-voltage fault in an older autothrottle part.

Others had technical or outside causes. A nosewheel bearing failed at Leeds Bradford in October 2023 and the 737 left the runway in a storm. A 787 landed at Birmingham in December 2023 with less than its final reserve fuel after windshear and a refused diversion. At East Midlands in December 2024, steps were pulled away while a cabin crew member was closing the door, and she fell to the apron. At Lanzarote in 2019, the crew kept descending after a "pull up" terrain warning; Spain's investigators found the approach was flown incorrectly.

How old is the TUI Airways fleet?

Younger than Jet2's, though TUI gives no UK figure. The long-haul fleet is about 15 Boeing 787-8s and 787-9s; the group had 19 in 2025, and four of them fly in the Netherlands. Short and medium routes use Boeing 737-800s and newer 737-8s, and BOC Aviation agreed to lease TUI Airways 14 more 737-8s for delivery in 2025 and 2026. Group-wide, TUI had 45 737 MAX jets by September 2025, and about 54% of its fleet had new-generation engines.

Tips for TUI passengers

• Check who flies you. A TUI holiday from the UK is usually on TUI Airways, but some summer flights use hired aircraft. The booking names the operating airline.
• Expect long-haul diversions in winter storms. The 2023 Birmingham fuel emergency came on a day of high winds across northern England, when airports had little space for diversions.
• Keep your seat belt on over the Atlantic. Flights to Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean cross hurricane and thunderstorm areas from June to November.

How we scored it

The accident record (91) is strong: no fatal accident since 1999 on a large holiday network. UK oversight scores 86 without 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 (78) is modern but undocumented. Incidents (74) cost the most: the Aberdeen go-around and the unpressurised climb came from crew actions, and at Bristol the crew took off on low thrust after a known autothrottle fault. The network scores 84. Compare easyJet and British Airways.