airline safety

Emirates safety record

No one on board an Emirates flight has ever died in an accident, in more than forty years of flying. In its one serious accident, in 2016, everyone on board got out; a firefighter died in the fire. On airlines like Emirates, the chance of a passenger dying in an accident is about 1 in 80 million per flight.

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No one on board has ever died in an accidentin 41 years of flying
Chance of dying in an accident, per flight1 in 80 million

For airlines based in the United Arab Emirates and the other countries in the same safety group, 2018–2022 (MIT study).

Put another way: if you took a flight every single day, you would, on average, fly for about 219,000 years before a fatal accident happened to you.

the record

No one on board has ever died in an accident

Emirates has flown since 1985 without anyone on board dying in an accident. Its only aircraft written off in an accident was flight 521, a 777 that crash-landed at Dubai in August 2016. The UAE's investigators found the crew began a go-around after a long landing but the engines stayed at idle, and the aircraft settled back onto the runway with its gear up and caught fire. Everyone on board got out; a firefighter was killed when a fuel tank exploded about nine minutes after the aircraft stopped.

In October 2025 a cargo 747 flying under an Emirates SkyCargo flight number, but owned and crewed by ACT Airlines, ran off the runway at Hong Kong and hit an airport patrol vehicle; two airport security staff were killed. That accident is under investigation.

since 1985

Every fatal accident, on one line

Solid dots are its own flights; hollow ones were flown by a partner or subsidiary under its name; grey rings are hijackings and attacks. Deaths that investigators don't class as accidents (such as trespassers) aren't shown.

1990200020102020
Its own flights Partner, subsidiary or predecessor airline flights
  1. Oct 2025 EK9788 (cargo) · Boeing 747-400 freighter · Hong Kong International AirportA freighter owned and crewed by ACT Airlines, flying under an Emirates SkyCargo flight number, ran off the runway on landing, hit an airport patrol vehicle and went into the sea; two airport security staff were killed. Under investigation.
  2. Aug 2016 EK521 · Boeing 777-300 · Dubai International AirportThe crew began a go-around after a long landing but the engines stayed at idle; the aircraft settled back onto the runway gear-up and caught fire. All on board got out; a firefighter was killed when a fuel tank exploded (UAE GCAA final report).
your flight

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at a glance

Emirates in numbers

Founded
1985
Country
United Arab Emirates
Main hubs
Dubai
Passengers a year
53.7 M FY2024-25
IATA safety audit (IOSA)
Registered
the fleet

What Emirates flies

Tap a plane for its own safety record.

Airbus A380 See its safety record Boeing 777 See its safety record Airbus A350 See its safety record
on the day

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  • ✓Where you are in the flight, and how long until the bumpy stretch is behind you
An iPhone Lock Screen showing the FlyBud Live Activity: Barcelona to Istanbul, gate B23, boarding, with the same flight in the Dynamic Island at the top of the screen.

Emirates safety questions

How safe is Emirates?

No one on board an Emirates flight has ever died in an accident, in more than forty years of flying. In its one serious accident, in 2016, everyone on board got out; a firefighter died in the fire. On airlines like Emirates, the chance of a passenger dying in an accident is about 1 in 80 million per flight. Every fact on this page is sourced — the list is at the bottom.

What is Emirates' safety rating?

There is no single official safety rating for airlines; the scores some websites publish are their own formulas. What can be checked is the record: no one on board killed in an accident in four decades, one aircraft written off in an accident, and the events listed on this page. It is a member of IATA, the airlines' trade body, which requires its members to pass IATA's operational safety audit (IOSA).

Has Emirates ever had a crash?

One Emirates aircraft has been written off in an accident: flight 521, which crash-landed and burned at Dubai in August 2016 after a go-around in which the engines stayed at idle. Everyone on board got out; a firefighter was killed.

sources

Where these facts come from

Every fact on this page comes from official accident reports, the airline's own figures or the published accident record.

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