World's Safest Airlines List Out: Air New Zealand, Qantas, Emirates, Cathay Pacific Score High

Airline Ratings, a global service dedicated to monitoring and evaluating airline safety and product quality, has unveiled its highly anticipated list of the Top 25 Safest Full-Service Airlines following a review of 385 airlines worldwide. For the year 2025, Air New Zealand has been awarded the title of the world's safest airline, achieving this recognition with a narrow lead over Qantas, which secured the second position just 1.5 points behind.

Air New Zealand had topped the list in 2024 as well. “It was extremely close again between Air New Zealand and Qantas for first place with only 1.50 points separating the two airlines,” said AirlineRatings.com CEO Sharon Petersen. “Whilst both airlines uphold the highest safety standards and pilot training,  Air New Zealand continues to have a younger fleet than Qantas which separates the two.”

Cathay Pacific, Emirates, and Qatar Airways achieved a three-way tie for the third position, showcasing their commitment to maintaining high safety standards and operational excellence.

“The three-way tie for third place was because we simply could not separate these airlines. From fleet age to pilot skill, safety practices, fleet size, and number of incidents, their scores were identical,” said AirlineRatings.com CEO Sharon Petersen.

Despite maintaining a seven-star rating, Singapore Airlines and KLM have not made it to this year’s list due to recent safety incidents that impacted their overall safety ratings. Iberia and Vietnam Airlines have made their debut on the list, while Korean Air has risen into the top 10.

The Factors For Review

The annual assessment by AirlineRatings.com rigorously evaluates airlines on a variety of critical safety and operational metrics. These include the age of the airline's fleet, historical safety records, results from safety audits, the effectiveness of incident response protocols, and the quality of pilot training programmes. Airlines that do not meet international safety standards or are involved in unresolved safety incidents are automatically removed from consideration in the rankings, ensuring only the most reliable airlines are highlighted.

According to AirlineRatings.com, it's important to assess all these factors in the proper context. For example, if an airline operates only 100 aircraft and has three incidents, it raises more concerns than an airline with 800 aircraft that has experienced six incidents. Additionally, financial instability within an airline can lead to significant operational challenges, making it an unsuitable candidate. Furthermore, any airline found to be at fault for a crash or failing its IOSA certification cannot be considered safe.

The Top 25 Safest Full Service Airlines 2025

1. Air New Zealand

2. Qantas

3. Cathay Pacific

4. Qatar Airways

5. Emirates

6. Virgin Australia

7. Etihad Airways

8. ANA

9. EVA Air

10. Korean Air

11. Alaska Airlines

12. Turkish Airlines

13. TAP Portugal

14. Hawaiian Airlines

15. American Airlines

16. SAS

17. British Airways

18. Iberia

19. Finnair

20. Lufthansa/Swiss

21. JAL

22. Air Canada

23. Delta Airlines

24. Vietnam Airlines

25. United Airlines