Out of 385 carriers worldwide, AirlineRatings.com has released its top 20 safest airlines for 2023, with the Australian carrier taking the top spot and two UAE airlines making the top 10. The UAE’s main airline, Etihad Airways, is ranked third, only behind last year’s winner, Air New Zealand.
Emirates is ranked eighth, up 13 spots from previous year’s standings.
“Etihad and Emirates are both standouts when it comes to safety,” AirlineRatings.com editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas told The National on Tuesday. “Both airlines lead the world in the purchase of new, safer and more fuel-efficient aircraft. And both carriers have been launch customers for new designs such as the 777X.”
The top 20 safest airlines in the world in 2023
1. Qantas
2. Air New Zealand
3. Etihad Airways
4. Qatar Airways
5. Singapore Airlines
6. TAP Air Portugal
7. Emirates
8. Alaska Airlines
9. EVA Air
10.Virgin Australia/Virgin Atlantic
11.Cathay Pacific
12.Hawaiian Airlines
13.SAS
14. United Airlines
15. Lufthansa/Swiss Group
16. Finnair
17. British Airways
18. KLM
19. American Airlines
20. Delta Air Lines
The aviation expert also praised Emirates and Etihad for raising their safety standards. “Of course, there is always room for improvement to reduce the number of serious incidents and in this year’s ranking, both airlines did reduce the number of incidents,” he added. “There was very little between the top 10 safest airlines in our scoring.”
Qantas reclaimed the top spot in the 2021 rating this year, jumping six places since last year. The airline has been in business for 100 years and is the world’s longest continually functioning airline. From 2014 to 2017, and again from 2019 through 2021, it won the yearly safety rankings.
During the epidemic, Qantas was forced to ground the majority of its fleet when Australia enacted some of the harshest Covid-19 control measures in the world, virtually prohibiting travel. AirlineRatings.com tracks 385 airlines worldwide. Serious incidents, recent fatal accidents, industry-leading safety efforts, expert pilot training assessment, and the age of each airline’s fleet are all elements evaluated in its annual list of the world’s safest airlines. “Our top 20 safest airlines are all standouts in the industry and are at the forefront of safety, innovation and launching of new aircraft,” said