AirlineRatings: Who are the safest airlines in the world for 2026 - Etihad tops the list of "full-service". HK Express ranks first among "low-cost"
The international aviation safety rating website, AirlineRatings.com, has published its 2026 ranking of the 25 safest full-service airlines and the 25 safest low-cost airlines in the world, out of over 320 airlines monitored globally.
According to AirlineRatings, the differences between the leading companies are minimal and do not represent real differences in the level of safety. The platform's CEO, Sharon Petersen, emphasizes that this year's ranking shows a further narrowing of the differences, with less than four points separating the places from first to fourteenth and only 1.3 points between the first six companies in the full-service category. According to her, all the companies included in the Top 25 are considered global leaders in air safety.
In the full-service airline category, Etihad Airways ranks first for the first time, becoming the first Gulf airline to top the global safety list. According to AirlineRatings, Etihad stands out for its young fleet, very low incident rate per flight, history without fatal accidents and improvements in safety management, especially in turbulent conditions. It is followed by well-known international companies such as Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines.
This year's list also features new entries from STARLUX and Fiji Airways, while Singapore Airlines returns to the rankings after being excluded in 2025, following a serious turbulence-related incident, following additional safety checks and audits.
Even in the low-cost category, the report highlights that safety standards are comparable to those of traditional airlines. At the top of the ranking for the second year in a row is HK Express, praised for its modern fleet, very low incident rate and on-board safety audit results. New for 2026 is the entry of Spring Airlines China, the first Chinese company to be included in the AirlineRatings rankings, as well as the significant rise of airBaltic into the top ten.
According to AirlineRatings, all companies included in the 2026 ranking have recorded incidents in the last two years, from technical episodes to engine failures or runway incidents. However, the actual incident rate per flight remains very low, ranging from 0.002 to 0.09, which is considered an indicator of the high level of safety in the global aviation industry.
The report emphasizes that in modern aviation, safety is not defined by the absolute absence of incidents, but by operational consistency, safety culture, crew training and effective risk management across millions of flights each year.
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