World’s safest airlines revealed: Emirates, Etihad, flydubai and Air Arabia rank high

Even as the world is trying to come to terms with the air disaster that left at least 270 dead, a new ranking has revealed a list of airlines that are considered the world’s safest.

Air India flight AI171 crashed moments after taking off from Ahmedabad on Thursday on its way to London Gatwick.

Of the 242 people on board, 241 perished, while one passenger miraculously made it out alive. The plane, which crashed into a residential building, also left casualties on the ground.

The flight was being operated by a Boeing Dreamliner 787, which until that moment had not been involved in any air disaster.

According to the latest rankings, revealed by AirlineRatings.com, Air New Zealand is the world’s safest full-service airline, while HK Express is the world’s safest low-cost carrier.

Gulf carriers, especially those operating from the UAE, have made it to the list as well.

Qatar Airways and Emirates are joint third in the list of safest full-service airlines, followed by Etihad Airways at No. 5.

FlyDubai and Air Arabia, meanwhile, are among one of the safest low-cost carriers, according to the rankings.

“It was extremely close again between Air New Zealand and Qantas for first place with only 1.50 points separating the two airlines. Whilst both airlines uphold the highest safety standards and pilot training, Air New Zealand continue to have a younger fleet than Qantas which separates the two,” said AirlineRatings.com CEO Sharon Petersen.

“The three-way tie for third place was because we simply could not separate these airlines. From fleet age to pilot skill, safety practices, fleet size, and number of incidents, their scores were identical,” she added.

Apart from consultations with check pilots and aviation experts, the following parameters play a key role in determining the rankings: serious incidents over the past two years, fleet age, fleet size, rate of incidents, fatalities, profitability, IOSA certification, ICAO country audit pass, and pilot skill and training.

“It is essential to evaluate all these factors in the appropriate context. For instance, an airline operating only 100 aircraft experiencing three incidents raises greater concern than an airline with 800 aircraft experiencing six incidents. Additionally, financial instability within an airline can lead to significant operational challenges, automatically disqualifying it as a candidate. Similarly, any airline found at fault for a crash or failing its IOSA certification cannot be considered,” the company said.

A recent airline safety study revealed that between 2018 and 2022, the global death risk per flight boarding was approximately one in 13.7 million. In comparison, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 1.19 million fatalities from road accidents in 2023, equating to more than two deaths per minute.

“While these statistics underscore the relative safety of flying, the loss of over 200 lives in December 2024 alone significantly surpass the 72 fatalities recorded by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in 2023,” the company said.