Wingo

Is Wingo safe?

Yes. Wingo has had no accident since Copa Holdings launched it as a low-cost brand in Colombia in December 2016, and it flies under the 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-audited certificate of AeroRepública, Copa's Colombian airline. We score it 81. That is below Copa Airlines (85) because Wingo's ten Boeing 737-800s are older than Copa's fleet, which is moving to the 737 MAX, and because its network starts from Bogotá, one of the highest major airports in the Americas. It is just above Avianca (80), which flies to harder airports.

Who actually flies Wingo?

AeroRepública S.A., which trades as Copa Colombia. IATA lists the P5 code under "Aero Republica dba Copa Colombia SA Y/O Wingo", and Colombia's civil aviation authority uses AeroRepública's call sign (RPB) for Wingo flights. Copa bought AeroRepública in 2005 and uses the same certificate for Copa Colombia flights to Panama and for Wingo.

The aircraft carry Panamanian HP- registrations because they belong to Copa's fleet. Under our rules that does not move Wingo's events to Copa's page: the certificate and the crew decide. For a few years a second airline flew under the Wingo brand: La Nueva Aerolínea, a Panamanian Copa company, operated one 737-800 from 2023. It has carried only cargo since August 2025, so a Wingo ticket today means AeroRepública.

The 2007 Santa Marta accident

Wingo's brand has a clean record, but the certificate it flies on does not. On 17 July 2007, AeroRepública flight 7330 from Cali, an Embraer 190, landed at Santa Marta in heavy rain. After a go-around for wind shear, the crew flew the second approach about 41 knots too fast and touched down with only 490 metres of wet runway left. The jet ran off the side of the runway, down an embankment and into the water. All 54 passengers and six crew survived, without serious injuries, and 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.

Colombia's investigators blamed an unstabilised approach that should have ended in a go-around, and the pilot monitoring for not calling out the excess speed. Under our rules, an accident counts against the airline whose certificate flew the flight, so it counts here, not on Copa's page. It is 19 years old, nobody died, and AeroRepública has had no accident since, which is why the accident record still scores 88. (An AeroRepública MD-83 also overran the runwayRunway excursionWhen an aircraft leaves the runway surface during take-off or landing, either off the end (an overrun) or off the side (a veer-off).More in the glossary at Cali in January 2005, without deaths; that is outside our 20-year window.)

Recent incidents

None of Wingo's recent events was an accident, and in each the crew did what the checklist asks:

• Medellín, October 2021. On a flight to Punta Cana, the left engine of a 737-800 began to bang and throw out flames during the climb. The crew shut it down, stopped the climb at 13,000 feet and returned to Medellín, which lies at about 2,100 metres.
• Bucaramanga to Barranquilla, May 2026. One engine had a technical fault in flight. The crew declared a precautionary emergency and landed normally at Barranquilla, with no injuries.
• Near Cartagena, July 2026. A 737-800 lost cabin pressure at 31,000 feet on its way to Medellín. The crew made an emergency descent and returned to Cartagena. The aircraft was back in service about two and a half days later.

Two engine problems in five years on a fleet of ten is not alarming for the 737-800's CFM56 engines, but it is enough to keep the incidents score at 76, the same as Copa's.

How old are Wingo's planes?

Wingo flies ten Boeing 737-800s with 186 seats each, all taken from Copa's fleet, where the 737-800s average 13.3 years. Wingo moved up from smaller 737-700s to the -800 in recent years. The 737-800 has one of the best safety records of any jet, but it is an older design than the 737 MAX that Copa is now buying, and the age keeps the fleet score at 72.

How hard is the network?

Harder than average at the start, easier at the destinations. Bogotá sits at 2,600 metres on a plateau ringed by mountains, and Medellín's airport at Rionegro at 2,100 metres. Thin air lengthens take-off runs and reduces climb performance, and both have frequent afternoon storms. Most Wingo routes go to Colombia's Caribbean coast (Cartagena, Barranquilla, Santa Marta, San Andrés) and to Punta Cana, Puerto Plata, Panama and Mexico, which are large airports with long runways but lie in the hurricane belt.

Flying Wingo: what to check

• Look for P5 on the ticket. That means AeroRepública's Colombian certificate. On a CM flight number sold by Copa, check the "operated by" line to see which certificate flies it.
• Afternoon departures from Bogotá and Medellín are the most likely to meet storms. If you get a choice, a morning flight is usually smoother.
• Pack medicines and documents in your personal item. Wingo's fare covers only a small bag on board, and checked luggage can miss a delayed connection.

How we scored it

A clean record since 2016 on a certificate whose last hull lossHull lossAn accident in which an aircraft is destroyed or damaged beyond economic repair. People may or may not be hurt.More in the glossary was in 2007 gives an accident score of 88. Colombian 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 scores 84, like Avianca. The 13-year-old 737-800s (72), well-handled technical failures (76) and a high-altitude home base (68) hold the score to 81. Compare JetSMART, which also flies in Colombia with a much younger fleet.