Luxair failed to make the list of safest airlines
Alexander Mils, Unsplash
AirlineRatings.com, the world's leading airline safety assessment platform, has published a ranking of the safest carriers for 2025. The list includes 385 companies, among which 25 leaders among full-service airlines and low-cost carriers are highlighted.
Air New Zealand came in first place for the second year in a row, ahead of Qantas due to its younger fleet. Third place was shared by Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways and Emirates. European leaders include Turkish Airlines (13th place) and TAP Portugal (14th place), as well as British Airways, Iberia and Lufthansa Group.
Major changes to the list:
- For the first time, Iberia and Vietnam Airlines were included in the ranking.
- Korean Air moved up to the top 10.
- The list did not include KLM and Singapore Airlines, despite their high level of security, due to minor incidents.
The leader among low-cost carriers was Hong Kong Express, thanks to its impeccable safety and lack of serious incidents. Jetstar Group and Ryanair were also in the top three. European carriers took strong positions, including easyJet (4th place), Wizz Air (7th place), Norwegian, Vueling and airBaltic.
AirlineRatings is based on a number of criteria including:
- Age and size of the fleet.
- Frequency of incidents and serious accidents in the last two years.
- Financial Stability.
- IOSA and national safety audits (ICAO). For example, companies with financial problems tend to invest less in maintenance, which reduces their security.
Special attention is paid to the professionalism of the crew. An example was the incident on JAL Flight 516 in 2024, where a tragedy was avoided thanks to the actions of an experienced crew.
According to the study, the risk of death in air travel in 2022 was 1 in 13.7 million landings, significantly lower than deaths in car crashes (1.19 million deaths in 2023). However, 2024 was an alarming year due to several major crashes that killed more than 200 people.
