In a world of modern travel, airlines are an essential part of getting to and from a destination safely. While ever-evolving technology and the airline industry’s commitment to passenger safety make stepping onto a plane a little less nerve-racking before a flight, it’s still important flyers know that their safety will be in good hands when choosing an airline to fly with.
Thankfully, multiple commercial airlines have demonstrated a steadfast devotion to the safety of their passengers over the years, making them a great choice for flyers. Airline Ratings, the world’s only safety and product rating website, has published its annual list of the safest airlines in the world for 2024, helping travelers feel confident in the airlines they choose going into the new year.
Airline Ratings’ annual ranking of the world’s safest airlines evaluates nearly 400 airlines across multiple safety credentials, including serious incidents, recent fatal accidents, audits from aviation’s governing and industry bodies, profitability, industry-leading safety initiatives, expert pilot training assessment and fleet age. To keep the list as fair as possible, uncontrollable events like bird strikes, turbulence injuries, weather diversions and lightning strikes are not factored into the rankings.
The world’s safest airline for 2024 went to Air New Zealand, which surpassed last year’s winner, Qantas, by just 1.5 points. According to Airline Ratings, the safety margins between this year’s top 25 airlines were extremely small, meaning each airline’s ranking was factored down to the smallest of details.
“Our Top Twenty-Five Safest Airlines are all standouts in the industry and are at the forefront of safety, innovation, and launching of new aircraft,” says Airline Ratings Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Thomas.
Air New Zealand took the crown in safety for having won countless awards, having a firm focus on safety and its customers and having excelled across the broad safety spectrum never losing sight of the smallest detail, according to Airline Ratings. Airline Ratings also gave Air New Zealand credit for the skills of its pilots who fly in some of the most challenging weather environments, including Wellington Airport, which is one of the windiest airports in the world.
Here are the top 25 safest airlines in the world for 2024:
- Air New Zealand
- Qantas
- Virgin Australia
- Etihad Airways
- Qatar Airways
- Emirates
- All Nippon Airways
- Finnair
- Cathay Pacific Airways
- Alaska Airlines
- SAS
- Korean Air
- Singapore Airlines
- EVA Air
- British Airways
- Turkish Airlines
- TAP Air Portugal
- Lufthansa/Swiss Group
- KLM
- Japan Airlines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- American Airlines
- Air France
- Air Canada Group
- United Airlines
Learn more here.
