These are the world’s safest airlines

Qantas has topped a list of the world’s safest airlines, compiled by AirlineRatings.com.

The Australian flag carrier came in first, with Air New Zealand claiming second place and Etihad Airways coming third.

The airline reviews website also published a top 20 list of the safest low-cost airlines to travel with. These rankings are listed in alphabetical order and include: Air Asia, EasyJet, Southwest and Wizz.

Basing the rating on the 385 airlines it monitors, the AirlineRatings list highlights those carriers which stand out in the travel industry.

Editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas said that the top-rated airlines “are at the forefront of safety, innovation, and launching of new aircraft.”

Key factors in the team’s analysis included how many crashes an airline has seen over a five-year period and the amount of serious incidents recorded in two years.

To examine comprehensive data on the airlines, audits from aviation’s governing bodies and lead associations were looked at. Meanwhile an airline’s fleet age, pilot training, and Covid protocols were also taken into consideration.

While recognising that all airlines have daily incidents, “many are aircraft or engine manufacture issues, not airline operational problems,” said Mr Thomas.

“It is the way the flight crew handles these incidents that determines a good airline from an unsafe one,” Mr Thomas added.

The team said Qantas scooped the top spot because “over its 100-year operational history the world’s oldest continuously operating airline has amassed an amazing record of firsts in operations and safety and is now accepted as the industry’s most experienced airline.”

While AirlineRatings.com hasn’t officially announced a list of the least safe airlines, some carriers only received a one-star safety rating in the line-up, meaning they sit at the bottom of the list.

These are: Nepal Airlines, Airblue, Sriwijaya Air, Blue Wing, Pakistan International Airlines and Air Algerie.

The top 20 safest airlines for 2023 are:

The top 20 safest low-cost airlines for 2023 are:

(In alphabetical…