aircraft safety

Airbus A220 safety record

No passenger has ever died on an A220, and none has been lost. In December 2024 a cabin crew member died after an engine failure and smoke on a SWISS flight.

Read the full record →
Wingspan 35.1 m · 115 ft Length 38.7 m · 127 ft
the record

No passenger has died on an A220

On 23 December 2024 a SWISS A220 had an engine failure at cruising altitude and smoke in the cabin. It diverted to Graz and was evacuated; one of the cabin crew died in hospital a week later. The investigation, started by Austria's investigators, is now led by Switzerland's; its final report is expected in late 2026.

No passenger has died on an A220 and none has been destroyed. Boeing's accident summary lists the type with no hull losses.

at a glance

The A220 in numbers

First flight
2013
In service since
2016 SWISS
Typical seats
120–150 A220-300, 2-class
Range
6,300 km
Engines
2 PW1500G
Cabin altitude
8,000 ft
Delivered
542 as of Aug 2026
Still being built
Yes
bumpy air

The wings are meant to bend

Like every airliner wing, the A220's is built to flex: in bumpy air the tips rise and fall a little, absorbing part of each gust before it reaches the cabin. The wing is designed to bend far further than any weather can push it.

Being a smaller jet than an A320 or a 737, it responds a touch more to the same gust. You feel more of the air's movement; the aircraft is no less able to take it.

Why turbulence is not a danger to the aircraft

The bend is drawn exaggerated so you can see it Each wing 17.6 m · 58 ft
your seat

Five across, two and three

The A220 seats five across in economy: two seats on one side of the aisle, three on the other. Only one seat in five is a middle seat, and on this aircraft the middle seat is built slightly wider than the others, so the one nobody wants is a little less bad.

The windows are larger than on most single-aisle jets, and the pair side has no middle seat at all — worth choosing if you're travelling as two.

Cabin width 3.3 m · 11 ft Economy 2-3 Seat width about 18 in
true scale

How big it really is

The A220 sits between the regional jets and the A320: a single-aisle jet sized for routes too thin for a full narrowbody, and long enough to fly them nonstop.

Tap any other airliner to lay it over the A220 at exactly the same scale.

The A220 in white, the 777 outlined in gold. Same scale, same metre.

Airbus A220 questions

How safe is the A220?

No passenger has ever died on an A220, and none has been lost. In December 2024 a cabin crew member died after an engine failure and smoke on a SWISS flight. Every figure on this page is sourced — the list is at the bottom.

Is the A220 the same plane as the CSeries?

Yes. Bombardier designed and launched it as the CSeries, and it was renamed the A220 when Airbus took a majority stake in the programme. The aircraft itself didn't change with the name.

Which seat is best on the A220?

If you're two, the pair of seats on the two-seat side has no middle seat to share. If you're alone, a window or aisle on either side, and if you do end up in the middle, it's the widest seat in the row.

Is the A220 a regional jet?

It's larger than the regional jets and shares their single-aisle simplicity, but it's certified and flown like any mainline narrowbody. Airlines use it both on busy regional routes and on longer thin routes.

same scale

Every other airliner

Airbus A380 79.8 m · 3-4-3 · 2-4-2 Boeing 747 68.4 m · 3-4-3 Boeing 777 64.8 m · 3-4-3 Airbus A350 64.8 m · 3-3-3 Airbus A330 60.3 m · 2-4-2 Boeing 787 Dreamliner 60.1 m · 3-3-3 Boeing 767 47.6 m · 2-3-2 Boeing 757 38.1 m · 3-3 Boeing 737 MAX 35.9 m · 3-3 Airbus A320 family 35.8 m · 3-3 Boeing 737 NG 35.8 m · 3-3 Embraer E-Jets 28.7 m · 2-2 De Havilland Dash 8-400 28.4 m · 2-2 ATR 42/72 27.1 m · 2-2
sources

Where these numbers come from

Every figure on this page is from the manufacturer, the certifying authority or the published accident record.

Flying on an A220 soon?

FlyBud shows the exact aircraft on your flight and the turbulence forecast for your route.