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Qantas and Virgin Australia lose altitude as world's safest airlines unveiled
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Air New Zealand, Emirates, Cathay Pacific and more carriers rated in new 2026 list.
A Gulf airline has been named the world's safest as Qantas, Virgin Australia and fellow Tasman carrier Air New Zealand lose ground in the new rankings.
Etihad has been crowned the top full-service airline for 2026 in an annual list compiled by airline safety and product rating website, AirlineRatings.com
World's safest airline rankings for 2026
Airline Ratings has revealed its Top 25 Safest Full-Service and Low-Cost Airlines for 2026, highlighting excellence in turbulence prevention, crew expertise, and overall safety.
AirlineRatings.com, the world’s only airline safety and product rating website, has announced its Top 25 Safest Full-Service and Top 25 Safest Low-Cost Airlines for 2026 from the 320 airlines it monitors.
In compiling the list, CEO Sharon Petersen stressed that it is important for the travelling public to understand just how narrow the margins are between the world’s safest airlines, and that small numerical differences should not be interpreted as gaps in safety. She explained:
“What stands out this year is how little separates the leaders. Less than four points covered positions one through 14, and at the very top the margins were even tighter, with just 1.3 points separating positions one through six in the full service category. We may be reaching a point where traditional rankings risk being misleading, and where grouping airlines into performance tiers provides a more accurate reflection of reality. All airlines in the Top 25 are world leaders in aviation safety, and claims that one is significantly safer or less safe than another are both sensationalist and false.”
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Scoot is the world’s 3rd safest low-cost airline, while SIA takes 7th in the full-service category
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Singapore’s airlines have landed strong results in a global aviation safety ranking for 2026 – Scoot clinched third place among the world’s safest low-cost carriers, while Singapore Airlines took seventh spot in the full-service category.
The annual ranking, published by airline safety and product rating platform Airline Ratings, assessed 320 airlines for 2026, excluding carriers operating fewer than 25 aircraft. Airlines were evaluated across criteria including incident rates, fleet age and size, fatalities, and compliance with international audits and safety standards set by organisations such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
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