Top 10 safest airlines in the world 2026: Global air traffic is expected to surge this year, with passenger numbers projected to reach 5.2 billion, according to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) 2026 Global Outlook for Air Transport.
As aviation enters another busy year—marked by strong post-pandemic growth and a renewed emphasis on safety following several high-profile, widely reported air accidents last year—the question of which airlines are the safest in the world in 2026 has taken on greater significance.
On Tuesday, aviation safety and product rating website airlineratings.com released its annual list of the world’s safest airlines for 2026.
The rankings assessed 320 carriers worldwide, identifying the top 25 safest full-service airlines and the top 25 safest low-cost airlines.
Etihad Airways was named the world’s safest full-service airline for 2026, becoming the first Gulf carrier to top the list.
Cathay Pacific secured the second spot, followed by Qantas — last year’s winner — Qatar Airways, and Emirates.
The 2026 rankings also reflect notable shifts, with Air New Zealand, which led as the world’s safest airline in 2025, fell down five spots to rank at sixth in 2026.
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Furthermore, Singapore Airlines returned to the top 10 at seventh place after being excluded last year following a major turbulence-related incident.
Another significant change involved ANA (All Nippon Airways), which dropped from eighth place to fourteenth in the rankings this year, falling out of the top 10 for 2026.
“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,” CEO Sharon Petersen was quoted as saying on the website.
Top 10 safest airlines in the world in 2026:
#1
Etihad Airways
United Arab Emirates
First Gulf Carrier #1
#2
Cathay Pacific
Hong Kong
Full-Service Carrier
#3
Qantas
Australia
2025 Winner
#4
Qatar Airways
Qatar
Full-Service Carrier
#5
Emirates
United Arab Emirates
Full-Service Carrier
#6
Air New Zealand
New Zealand
Full-Service Carrier
#7
Singapore Airlines
Singapore
Returned to Top 10
#8
EVA Air
Taiwan
Full-Service Carrier
#9
Virgin Australia
Australia
Full-Service Carrier
#10
Korean Air
South Korea
Full-Service Carrier
Indian Express InfoGenIE
Methodology:
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Petersen said while ranking the airlines, much of their “criteria remains consistent year on year and considers incident rates adjusted for the total number of flights, fleet age, serious incidents, pilot training and international safety audits”.
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