Every year, Airline Ratings unveils its definitive ranking of the world’s safest airlines. This year’s list is here—discover the carriers setting new benchmarks for safety in the skies.
Although 2024 was not a great year due to several accidents, air travel remains by far the safest mode of transportation.
According to research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), flying today is safer than ever.
Between 2018 and 2022, the risk of death on a flight was estimated at 1 in 13.7 million passenger boardings—an improvement from the 1 in 7.9 million recorded between 2008 and 2017.
The progress is even more striking when compared to 1968-1977, when the risk was 1 in 350,000 boardings.
Each year, the website Airline Ratings publishes its ranking of the Safest Airlines in the World.
For 2025, it has highlighted 25 airlines that stand out in terms of safety. The ranking is based on several factors, including:
- Number of accidents in the last five years
- Serious incidents in the last two years
- Evaluations by aviation regulators
- Average fleet age
- Crew training and safety innovations
The Safest Airlines in the World: 2025 Ranking
For the new year, according to the Airline Ratings ranking, the world’s safest airline is Air New Zealand, narrowly beating Qantas in a very close competition. Here’s the full list of the top 25:
- 1. Air New Zealand
- 2. Qantas
- 3. Cathay Pacific; Qatar Airways; Emirates
- 4. Virgin Australia
- 5. Etihad Airways
- 6. ANA
- 7. EVA Air
- 8. Korean Air
- 9. Alaska Airlines
- 10. Turkish Airlines (THY)
- 11. TAP Portugal
- 12. Hawaiian Airlines
- 13. American Airlines
- 14. SAS
- 15. British Airways
- 16. Iberia
- 17. Finnair
- 18. Lufthansa/Swiss
- 19. JAL
- 20. Air Canada
- 21. Delta Airlines
- 22. Vietnam Airlines
- 23. United Airlines
- 24. Air Canada Group
- 25. United Airlines
Compared to 2024, Iberia and Vietnam Airlines have joined the ranking, while Korean Air has climbed into the top 10. Missing from this year’s list are Singapore Airlines and KLM, which dropped out of the ranking.
For low-cost airlines, Airline Ratings has released a separate ranking based on additional criteria such as:
- Fleet size
- Accident history
- Fatalities
- Profitability
- IOSA certification
- Pilot competence and training
Despite the common perception that budget airlines invest less in safety, the data proves otherwise. The safest low-cost airline in 2025 is HK Express, based in Hong Kong. It is followed by Jetstar Group, an Australian low-cost carrier, while Ryanair takes third place. In fourth place is another major European carrier, easyJet.
New entries in this year’s ranking include Zipair, Jet2, and Air Baltic. Here are the 25 safest low-cost airlines in the world:
- 1. HK Express
- 2. Jetstar Group
- 3. Ryanair
- 4. easyJet
- 5. Frontier Airlines
- 6. AirAsia
- 7. Wizz Air
- 8. VietJet Air
- 9. Southwest Airlines
- 10. Volaris
- 11. flydubai
- 12. Norwegian
- 13. Vueling
- 14. Jet2
- 15. Sun Country Airlines
- 16. WestJet
- 17. JetBlue Airways
- 18. Air Arabia
- 19. IndiGo
- 20. Eurowings
- 21. Allegiant Air
- 22. Cebu Pacific
- 23. Zipair
- 24. SKY Airline
- 25. Air Baltic
Original article published on Money.it Italy 2025-03-07 21:00:00. Original title: La classifica delle compagnie aeree più sicure al mondo
