Etihad has been named the world’s safest full-service airline by AirlineRatings for 2026, marking the first time a Gulf carrier has claimed the number one spot. The Abu Dhabi-based airline nabbed the top spot thanks to a combination of a young fleet, strong pilot and cabin crew training, a crash-free history and the lowest incident rate per flight of any airline assessed this year. 

A growing emphasis was also placed on turbulence prevention, now considered the leading cause of in-flight injuries globally. Airlines were evaluated on their participation in turbulence tracking programmes, onboard safety audits and transparency in incident reporting.

Coming in second was Hong Kong flag carrier, Cathay Pacific. Qantas, which was ranked first in 2023, and second in 2024 and 2025, dropped another spot to third in 2026. Virgin Australia also fell down the ranks. In 2025 it was ranked fourth safest airline in the world. In 2026, Virgin Australia placed ninth. But it wasn’t all bad news for Aussie carriers. In the low-cost category, Jetstar Australia finished second among the world’s safest budget airlines. 

Credit: iStock

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AirlineRatings 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.

“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.”

Top 25 safest full-service airlines 2026:

1. Etihad
2. Cathay Pacific
3. Qantas
4. Qatar Airways
5. Emirates
6. Air New Zealand
7. Singapore Airlines
8. EVA Air
9. Virgin Australia
10. Korean Air
11. Starlux Airlines
12. Turkish Airlines
13. Virgin Atlantic
14. ANA (All Nippon Airways)
15. Alaska Airlines
16. TAP Air Portugal
17. SAS Scandinavian Airlines
18. British Airways
19. Vietnam Airlines
20. Iberia
21. Lufthansa
22. Air Canada
23. Delta Air Lines
24. American Airlines
25. Fiji Airways

Top 25 safest low-cost airlines 2026: 

1. HK Express
2. Jetstar Australia
3. Scoot
4. FlyDubai
5. easyJet Group
6. Southwest Airlines
7. AirBaltic
8. VietJet Air
9. Wizz Air Group
10. AirAsia Group
11. TUI UK
12. Vueling
13. Norwegian
14. JetBlue
15. FlyNAS
16. Cebu Pacific
17. Jet2
18. Ryanair (Ireland and UK)
19. Spring Airlines China
20. Transavia
21. Eurowings Group
22. Volaris
23. WestJet Group
24. GOL
25. SKY Airline Chile

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