AirlineRatings, an airline rating agency, has announced the Top 25 Safest Airlines for 2026. The top positions were taken by Etihad Airways and Hong Kong Express Airways.
The ranking is published annually and comprehensively evaluates factors such as serious accidents over the past two years, average fleet age, expected fleet size, accident rate, number of fatalities, profitability, IOSA certification and country audits, as well as pilots’ skills and training. This year’s survey covered 320 airlines.
The rankings are divided into full-service carriers and low-cost carriers (LCCs). Among full-service airlines, Etihad Airways ranked first, while among LCCs, Hong Kong Express Airways took the top spot for the second consecutive year.
Among full-service airlines, the scores from 1st to 14th place differed by less than 4 points, and the gap between 1st and 6th place was only 1.3 points. STARLUX Airlines and Fiji Airways appeared in the rankings. Among LCCs, China Spring Airlines was listed for the first time.
■ Top 25 Safest Airlines in 2026 (figures in parentheses indicate the previous year’s ranking) 1st: Etihad Airways (5) 2nd: Cathay Pacific Airways (3) 3rd: Qantas Airways (2) 4th: Qatar Airways (3) 5th: Emirates (3) 6th: Air New Zealand (1) 7th: Singapore Airlines (-) 8th: EVA Air (7) 9th: Virgin Australia (4) 10th: Korean Air (8) 11th: STARLUX Airlines (-) 12th: Turkish Airlines (10) 13th: Virgin Atlantic (–) 14th: All Nippon Airways (ANA) (6) 15th: Alaska Airlines (9) 16th: TAP Air Portugal (11) 17th: Scandinavian Airlines (14) 18th: British Airways (15) 19th: Vietnam Airlines (22) 20th: Iberia (16) 21st: Lufthansa German Airlines (18) 22nd: Air Canada (20) 23rd: Delta Air Lines (21) 24th: American Airlines (13) 25th: Fiji Airways (-)
■ Top 25 Safest LCCs in 2026 1st: Hong Kong Express Airways (1) 2nd: Jetstar Group (2) 3rd: Scoot (-) 4th: flydubai (11) 5th: easyJet (4) 6th: Southwest Airlines (9) 7th: airBaltic (25) 8th: VietJet Air (8) 9th: Wizz Air (7) 10th: AirAsia (6) 11th: TUI UK (-) 12th: Vueling Airlines (13) 13th: Norwegian Air Shuttle (12) 14th: JetBlue Airways (17) 15th: flynas (-) 16th: Cebu Pacific Air (22) 17th: Jet2 (14) 18th: Ryanair (3) 19th: China Spring Airlines (-) 20th: Transavia Airlines (-) 21st: Eurowings (20) 22nd: Volaris (10) 23rd: WestJet (16) 24th: GOL Linhas Aéreas (-) 25th: SKY Airline (24)
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