Last Updated on July 28, 2026 by Daniel Globe
Sun Country Airlines is a Minnesota-based low-cost carrier that operates scheduled passenger flights, charters, and cargo services. It was founded in 1982 and operated its first flight in January 1983. When judging whether Sun Country is safe, the most useful evidence is its regulatory status, aircraft fleet, independent audit registration, accident history, and current safety ratings—not its ticket prices or customer-service reviews.
Quick Answer
Yes. Current public evidence indicates that Sun Country is a legitimate FAA-regulated Part 121 airline with IOSA registration and a 7/7 AirlineRatings safety score. Its history includes nonfatal accidents and incidents, including a 2022 landing-gear collapse, so describing the airline as completely incident-free would be inaccurate.
Key Takeaways
- The FAA Midwest Certificate Management Office provides air-carrier oversight for Sun Country.
- AirlineRatings currently gives Sun Country a 7/7 safety score and identifies it as IOSA registered.
- Sun Country operates Boeing 737-800 and 737-900ER Next Generation aircraft, not Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
- Public records include nonfatal events, so the airline should not be described as accident-free or incident-free.
- Customer-service complaints about delays, fees, or comfort are not the same as evidence of unsafe flight operations.
Safety Measures and Protocols
Sun Country conducts passenger operations under the federal rules that apply to major U.S. air carriers. The FAA Midwest Certificate Management Office specifically lists Sun Country among the airlines under its oversight.
Part 121 airlines must use FAA-approved operating, training, maintenance, and emergency procedures. They are also required to implement a formal Safety Management System, or SMS. An SMS gives an airline a structured process for identifying hazards, assessing risk, monitoring performance, and correcting safety problems.
Before departure, the crew follows required checklists and confirms that the aircraft is legally ready for service. Flight attendants provide a safety briefing covering seat belts, exits, oxygen masks, flotation equipment when applicable, and restrictions on smoking or tampering with safety equipment.
Note: Airlines do not publish every checklist, maintenance finding, internal safety report, or employee training record. A responsible safety review should separate documented public evidence from assumptions about confidential company procedures.
Maintenance and Inspection Procedures
Federal rules require each Part 121 carrier to maintain an inspection, maintenance, preventive-maintenance, and alteration program that keeps its aircraft airworthy. The program must address the aircraft, engines, propellers where applicable, appliances, emergency equipment, and other safety-critical components.
Airline maintenance is not limited to a single annual inspection. It includes routine servicing, scheduled inspections, component replacements, defect corrections, airworthiness-directive compliance, and checks triggered by flight or maintenance data. An aircraft cannot legally return to passenger service until authorized personnel determine that it is airworthy and properly released.
The original article referred to daily inspections, A-checks, and C-checks. Those terms are commonly used in commercial aviation, but exact intervals vary by aircraft, approved maintenance program, utilization, and task. Sun Country does not publish a complete aircraft-by-aircraft maintenance schedule for passengers, so specific intervals should not be presented as confirmed company policy without documentation.
Mechanical delays or a return to the gate do not automatically indicate unsafe maintenance. In many cases, delaying or canceling a flight is evidence that a crew or maintenance team is refusing to operate until a concern has been evaluated.
Pilot Training and Experience
Sun Country pilots must meet FAA certification and qualification rules for Part 121 airline operations. The original table stating that pilots need “1,000 hours” and exactly “50 hours” of simulator training was not supported and could mislead readers.
| Qualification | What the Rule Means |
| Airline Transport Pilot Certificate | An unrestricted ATP certificate generally requires at least 1,500 total flight hours plus other aeronautical-experience requirements. |
| Restricted ATP | Some military pilots and graduates of qualifying aviation programs may serve as first officers with fewer than 1,500 hours under defined FAA restrictions. |
| Aircraft Type Rating | Part 121 pilots must hold the appropriate qualification or type rating for the aircraft they operate. |
| Airline Training | Pilots complete an FAA-approved airline training program covering normal procedures, abnormal events, emergencies, crew coordination, and aircraft systems. |
| Recurrent Checking | Training and proficiency checks continue after hiring; airline qualification is not a one-time event. |
The FAA’s ATP training guidance explains the standard and restricted pathways. Its active Part 121 pilot-training guidance also covers how airlines develop initial, transition, upgrade, recurrent, and checking programs.
Simulator training allows pilots to practice events that would be unsafe or impractical to create in an aircraft, such as engine failures, rejected takeoffs, severe system malfunctions, wind shear, and emergency landings. The exact number of simulator hours can differ by position, experience, curriculum, and approved training program.
Safety Ratings and Reviews
AirlineRatings currently gives Sun Country a 7/7 safety score. Its published profile awards the airline full credit for IOSA registration, its fatal-accident measure, pilot-related incident criteria, operating standards, and absence from the European Union’s banned-airline list.
This is favorable evidence, but AirlineRatings is an independent commercial rating service rather than a U.S. regulator. Its score is based on a defined methodology and should be considered alongside FAA oversight and official accident records.
Sun Country is also listed as IOSA registered by the rating service. The IATA Operational Safety Audit evaluates an airline’s operational management and control systems against standardized criteria. IOSA moved to a risk-based audit model in 2024, allowing the scope to reflect risks specific to each operator.
A 7/7 rating and IOSA registration are positive safety indicators, but no audit, regulator, or historical record can guarantee the outcome of a future flight.
Incident and Accident History
Sun Country has a favorable record when measured by fatal passenger accidents, but it does not have a completely blank accident or incident history. That distinction matters because an airline can have nonfatal reportable events while still maintaining an overall record that compares favorably with the industry.
1999 Pushback Accident at Washington Dulles
On May 28, 1999, a Sun Country Boeing 727 struck a catering truck during pushback at Washington Dulles International Airport. The NTSB classified the aircraft damage as substantial. None of the 83 passengers, seven crew members, or two people in the truck was injured.
The NTSB found that the tug operator had not maintained an adequate visual lookout. It also identified inadequate pushback procedures that did not provide proper assistance to the tug operator as a contributing factor.
2022 Landing-Gear Incident in Las Vegas
On February 4, 2022, Sun Country Flight 110 returned to Harry Reid International Airport after the crew received an unsafe landing-gear indication. The Boeing 737-800’s right main landing gear collapsed during landing. NTSB docket material identifies the event as ENG22FA009.
The aircraft sustained minor damage, and none of the 50 passengers or six crew members was injured. The crew’s decision to return and prepare for an abnormal landing is an example of safety procedures limiting the consequences of a mechanical problem.
Note: “Accident,” “incident,” “substantial damage,” and “minor damage” are technical classifications. A reportable accident does not necessarily involve fatalities, and a diversion does not necessarily qualify as an accident.
Emergency Response Procedures
Part 121 crewmembers receive emergency training appropriate to their duties. Required subjects include emergency communication, evacuation, firefighting, decompression, emergency equipment, first aid, and procedures for assisting passengers who may need help reaching an exit.
Flight attendants practice safety duties because their primary legal role is passenger safety, even though travelers may interact with them mainly during boarding and cabin service. During an actual emergency, passengers should stop recording, leave carry-on bags behind, listen for commands, and move quickly toward the exit directed by the crew.
Airlines also coordinate with airports, air-traffic services, emergency responders, maintenance teams, and company operations during diversions or aircraft emergencies. The exact details of Sun Country’s internal emergency-response plan are not publicly released, but its procedures must meet the rules applicable to its operating certificate.
Warning: Never take a carry-on bag during an emergency evacuation. A bag can slow the aisle, damage an evacuation slide, or block another passenger’s escape.
Safety Features on Sun Country Aircraft
Sun Country’s current public fleet information describes Boeing 737-800 and 737-900ER passenger aircraft, along with Boeing 737-800 freighters used for cargo operations. These are Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft.
Note: The Boeing 737-800 and 737-900ER are not 737 MAX models. The “737” name covers several generations of aircraft with different designs and systems.
Commercial aircraft contain redundant or backup systems for many safety-critical functions. Depending on the system, redundancy may include separate hydraulic circuits, electrical sources, navigation instruments, communication equipment, and independent flight-control components. Crews are trained to use checklists when a primary system becomes unavailable.
Aircraft type alone cannot establish whether an airline is safe. The operator’s maintenance program, crew training, operating procedures, safety reporting, regulatory compliance, and response to identified hazards are equally important.
Regulatory Compliance and Oversight
Sun Country operates under FAA oversight as a U.S. air carrier. The FAA Midwest Certificate Management Office lists Sun Country alongside Endeavor Air and Republic Airways among the carriers for which it provides oversight.
Regulatory oversight can include surveillance of flight operations, aircraft maintenance, training programs, manuals, records, qualification standards, and corrective actions. The FAA can require changes, impose civil penalties, restrict operations, or take certificate action when an airline does not comply with applicable rules.
Sun Country’s IOSA registration adds a separate industry audit framework. IOSA does not replace the FAA, certify that every flight will be problem-free, or prevent an airline from experiencing an incident. It provides another structured review of operational management and control systems.
Customer Feedback and Satisfaction
Passenger reviews can help travelers judge seat comfort, fees, boarding, communication, baggage handling, schedule reliability, and staff service. They are much less useful for judging aircraft maintenance or pilot qualification because passengers do not have access to the records needed to evaluate those areas.
Sun Country is a low-cost airline, so reviews frequently focus on optional fees, tighter seating, limited amenities, irregular schedules, and the way disruptions are handled. A poor experience with a delay or bag fee may be a valid service complaint, but it is not automatically evidence that the aircraft or crew was unsafe.
Likewise, a smooth and friendly flight does not prove that an airline’s maintenance system is stronger than another carrier’s. For safety research, FAA oversight, NTSB records, audit status, and documented operating standards deserve more weight than anonymous reviews.
What Passengers Can Do to Improve Their Own Safety
Passengers cannot inspect an airliner or evaluate its crew before every trip, but they can reduce common cabin risks:
- Keep your seat belt fastened low and snug whenever you are seated, even when the sign is off.
- Listen to the safety briefing and locate the two nearest exits.
- Count the rows between your seat and the nearest exit in case visibility is poor.
- Place heavy items fully under the seat or inside the overhead bin.
- Follow crew instructions immediately during turbulence or an emergency.
- Do not open overhead bins or retrieve luggage during an evacuation.
- Tell the airline before travel if you will need mobility, medical, seating, or evacuation assistance.
The FAA identifies seat-belt use as the main protection against turbulence injuries. Unexpected turbulence can occur before the crew has time to illuminate the seat-belt sign.
Pro Tip: Leave your seat belt loosely fastened over your lap while sleeping. The crew can confirm that you are secured without waking you if the seat-belt sign comes on.
Is Sun Country Airlines Safe for Travel?
Based on the public evidence reviewed, Sun Country is a reasonable airline to consider from a safety standpoint. It is an FAA-regulated Part 121 carrier, falls under a named FAA oversight office, participates in the IOSA audit system, and currently holds a 7/7 AirlineRatings safety score.
Its history is not completely free of accidents or incidents. NTSB records include a substantial-damage pushback accident in 1999, and a Boeing 737-800 experienced a nonfatal landing-gear collapse in 2022. Including these events gives readers a more accurate picture than claiming that the airline has never experienced a serious operational problem.
Nothing in the current public record reviewed for this article suggests that travelers should avoid Sun Country on safety grounds. Travelers should still compare route availability, schedule frequency, change policies, fees, and disruption support because those service factors can differ considerably among airlines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Sun Country Airlines a safe airline to fly?
Current public indicators are favorable. Sun Country is regulated as a U.S. Part 121 air carrier, is listed as IOSA registered, and currently has a 7/7 AirlineRatings safety score. These indicators support considering it a safe airline, although no source can guarantee a future flight.
Has Sun Country Airlines had any accidents or serious incidents?
Yes. Public records include a 1999 pushback accident that caused substantial aircraft damage but no injuries. In 2022, a Sun Country Boeing 737-800 experienced a landing-gear collapse in Las Vegas; all 50 passengers and six crew members avoided injury.
Has Sun Country had a recent fatal accident?
AirlineRatings currently gives Sun Country full credit for its fatal-accident measure covering the past 10 years. Older NTSB records reviewed for this article include nonfatal accidents and incidents, so the most accurate description is a favorable fatal-accident record rather than an incident-free history.
Does Sun Country fly Boeing 737 MAX aircraft?
Sun Country’s published fleet information identifies Boeing 737-800 and 737-900ER Next Generation aircraft. These models belong to the 737 NG family and are not Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
How are Sun Country pilots trained?
Pilots must hold the FAA certificates and aircraft qualifications required for their position. They also complete an FAA-approved airline training and checking program that covers aircraft systems, normal procedures, abnormal situations, emergencies, crew coordination, and recurrent proficiency.
Is Sun Country regulated by the FAA?
Yes. Sun Country is a U.S. air carrier operating under FAA rules. The FAA Midwest Certificate Management Office specifically lists Sun Country among the airlines for which it provides air-carrier oversight.
Does a mechanical delay mean the aircraft is unsafe?
Not necessarily. Airlines delay, substitute, or cancel flights when a mechanical concern requires inspection or repair. Refusing to dispatch an aircraft until the issue is resolved is part of the safety process, although repeated disruptions may still be a valid reliability or customer-service concern.
Sources
- Sun Country Airlines — Our Story — company history and current fleet information.
- FAA Midwest Certificate Management Office — confirms FAA air-carrier oversight for Sun Country.
- FAA Safety Management Systems for Part 121 Operators — required safety-management framework.
- FAA Airline Transport Pilot Training — ATP and restricted-ATP qualification information.
- National Transportation Safety Board Report NYC99LA127 and NTSB Docket ENG22FA009 — documented Sun Country accident and incident history.
- IATA Operational Safety Audit and AirlineRatings Sun Country Safety Profile — audit methodology, IOSA status, and current independent rating.
