Qantas loses ground as the 'world's safest airlines' for 2026 are revealed
Etihad Airways has been named the world's safest airline for the first time, taking out the top spot in the annual ranking in 2026.
The airline, based out of Abu Dhabi, knocked Air New Zealand from the previous top spot. The Kiwi carrier was placed sixth in this year's list, compiled by airlineratings.com.
In second place was Hong Kong-based carrier Cathay Pacific, with Australia's national airline Qantas sitting in third place, dropping one spot from last year.
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Etihad Airways has been crowned the worlds safest airline in 2026. iStock
Airlines were ranked based on criteria including incident rates adjusted for the total number of flights, fleet age, serious incidents, pilot training and international safety audits.
However this year, greater emphasis was placed on turbulence prevention.
"It remains the leading cause of in-flight injuries," Airlineratings CEO Sharon Petersen said.
"To support this, we consider an airline's participation in the IATA Turbulence Aware programme or equivalent, as well as the Airline Ratings onboard safety audit."
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Qantas placed third on the list. Supplied
In compiling the list, Sharon also stressed how narrow the margins actually are between the airlines.
"What stands out this year is how little separates the leaders," she said.
"Less than four points covered positions one through 14, and at the very top the margins were even tighter, with just 1.3 points separating positions one through six in the full service category."
She acknowledged in future a traditional ranking system may "be misleading" and instead grouping airlines into performance tiers may "a more accurate reflection of reality".
The product and safety rating website also ranked the safest low-cost airlines for 2026, with Jetstar coming in second place behind HK Express out of Hong Kong.
Jetstar was ranked the second safest low-cost carrier in the world. Jetstar
In a statement to Stuff, a spokesperson for Qantas Group said: "Everyone at Qantas and Jetstar is incredibly proud of our commitment to safety, which will always be our number one priority."
"The whole aviation industry is focused on ensuring flying remains the safest way to travel through continual learning and improvement."
Airlines for Australia and New Zealand (A4ANZ) Chair, Professor Graeme Samuel AC, said safety is the cornerstone of air travel and that airlines from the Tasman region have a long history and solid reputation for maintaining a 'safety-first culture'.
"The 2026 global airline safety rankings are a testament to the continued and unwavering commitment Australia and New Zealand's airlines have to delivering the highest standards of safety and operational excellence," Professor Samuel said in a statement.
"These results reinforce what we already know: Australia and New Zealand's airlines are truly world-class. This achievement reflects the hard work and laser focus on safety by thousands of dedicated professionals across our member airlines."
The top 25 safest 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
