AirlineRatings Reveals World’s Safest Airlines Rankings for 2026.
Etihad tops full-service list as turbulence prevention and crew expertise shape global airline safety standards.
AirlineRatings.com has published its World’s Safest Airline Rankings for 2026, naming the Top 25 Safest Full-Service and Top 25 Safest Low-Cost Airlines from the 320 carriers it monitors worldwide. The rankings emphasize safety performance, crew training, fleet age, incident rates, and growing focus on turbulence prevention, now a leading cause of in-flight injuries.
For the first time, a Gulf carrier—Etihad Airways—claimed the number one position among full-service airlines, supported by its young fleet, advanced cockpit safety systems, crash-free history, and lowest incident rate per flight. AirlineRatings CEO Sharon Petersen highlighted that differences among top airlines are extremely narrow, urging travelers to view rankings as performance tiers rather than absolute safety gaps.
On the low-cost side, HK Express secured the top spot for the second consecutive year, driven by an exceptionally low incident rate and strong safety audits. The 2026 list also marked milestones with the inclusion of Spring Airlines China, the first Chinese carrier to appear in the rankings, reinforcing the industry’s overall commitment to safety through transparency, training, and risk management.
