World's safest budget and long-haul airlines revealed for 2026

AirlineRatings.com published its 2026 safety rankings after assessing 320 carriers, placing Etihad first among full-service airlines and HK Express first among low-cost carriers.

AirlineRatings.com has published its 2026 lists of the world’s safest airlines after reviewing the records of 320 carriers. The company assessed audits by aviation bodies, crash and serious incident records, safety initiatives, pilot training and fleet age. The release comes as recent reported incidents have kept safety in public discussion. Key findings: - AirlineRatings.com named Etihad the top full-service airline for 2026, followed by Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Qatar and Emirates. - The top low-cost carriers list is led by HK Express, then Jetstar Australia, Scoot, Fly Dubai and EasyJet Group. - The site reviewed 320 carriers using criteria that include audits, incident records, safety programmes, crew training and fleet age. - British Airways is listed 18th among full-service airlines, down from 15th last year, and several UK carriers moved down the low-cost rankings, with Ryanair placed 18th. - AirlineRatings CEO Sharon Petersen said the 2026 process placed greater emphasis on turbulence prevention and reported an incident rate per flight across the list between 0.002 and 0.09. Summary: The published rankings provide a comparative view of airline safety based on records, audits, crew training and fleet age. They arrive amid public attention to recent reported incidents and aim to show relative performance across carriers. Undetermined at this time.