A recently released report on the world’s 25 safest full-service airlines for 2026 included Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines.
AirlineRatings.com included the three United States-based carriers in its annual report released last month. Alaska Airlines ranked 15th, the highest among the American carriers. Meanwhile Delta Air Lines (excluding its subsidiary Endeavor Air) and American Airlines (excluding its Envoy Air, Piedmont Airlines, and PSA Airlines subsidiaries) landed at 23rd and 24th, respectively. On a separate list featuring the world’s top 25 safest low-cost airlines for 2026, two U.S. carriers were named. Southwest Airlines was in sixth place, and JetBlue ranked 14th.
Dubbed No. 1 on the list of this year’s safest full-service airlines was Etihad Airways. Notably, the latter is one of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s two official flag carriers. The country’s other national airline, Emirates, ranked fifth.
Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong) ranked second on the list of the world’s safest airlines in 2026. It was followed by Qantas (Australia) in third and Qatar Airways (Qatar) in fourth.
In a statement, AirlineRatings.com CEO Sharon Petersen noted that there were narrow margins between the featured airlines’ ranking positions. That said, jet-setters can hopefully feel safe flying with any of the airlines on the list. Moreover, air travel remains the safest mode of transportation.
“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,” Petersen noted, in part. “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.”
The World’s Safest 25 Full-Service Airlines For 2026
- Etihad
- Cathay Pacific
- Qantas
- Qatar
- Emirates
- Air New Zealand
- Singapore Airlines
- EVA Air
- Virgin Australia
- Korean Air
- STARLUX
- Turkish Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- ANA
- Alaska Airlines
- TAP Air Portugal
- SAS
- British Airways
- Vietnam Airlines
- Iberia
- Lufthansa
- Air Canada
- Delta
- American Airlines
- Fiji Airways
What Else Is There To Know About The Airline Safety Rankings For 2026?
Petersen additionally shared that AirlineRatings.com’s methodology for determining airline safety largely remains “consistent year on year.” As she explained, the ranking considers “incident rates adjusted for the total number of flights, fleet age, serious incidents, pilot training, and international safety audits.”
Another factor considered for this year’s ranking was an airline’s turbulence prevention efforts.
If you’re interested in the safest low-cost airlines this year, HK Express (Hong Kong) ranked at the top of the list of 25 carriers in total. Jetstar Airways (Australia), Scoot (Singapore), flydubai (UAE), and EasyJet Group (United Kingdom) consecutively rounded out the top five.
