Australia’s two major carriers, Qantas and Virgin Australia, have been ranked among the world’s safest airlines for 2026 in the latest AirlineRatings.com global safety index. In a strong showing for Australian aviation, Qantas placed third and Virgin Australia ninth in the Top 25 list of full-service airlines, reinforcing both brands’ reputations for safety, training and operational reliability.
Etihad Tops 2026 Global Airline Safety Rankings
For the first time, a Gulf carrier has taken out the top spot in AirlineRatings.com’s annual safety rankings, with Etihad Airways named the world’s safest full-service airline for 2026. The Abu Dhabi-based airline was recognised for its young fleet, crash-free history, cockpit safety advancements (particularly around turbulence) and the lowest incident rate per flight of any carrier on the list.
Cathay Pacific secured second place, followed by Qantas in third, Qatar Airways in fourth and Emirates in fifth, all drawn from an assessment pool of 320 airlines worldwide. The rankings weigh factors such as incident rates, fleet age, serious safety events, pilot training, and compliance with international safety audits.
Qantas and Virgin Australia in the Top 10
Qantas once again features prominently, taking third place among full-service airlines and maintaining its long-standing position as one of the world’s safest carriers. Virgin Australia also earned a coveted Top 10 position, ranking ninth and underlining the strength of Australian safety standards across both international and domestic operations.
Alongside Qantas and Virgin Australia, the full-service Top 10 for 2026 includes Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, EVA Air and Korean Air, creating a tightly packed field of global leaders. AirlineRatings CEO Sharon Petersen notes that the performance gap at the top is now so narrow that small numerical differences should not be over-interpreted.
How AirlineRatings.com Measures Airline Safety
AirlineRatings.com evaluates 320 airlines each year, using a multi-factor methodology that includes:
- Incident rates per number of flights, adjusted for scale of operations.
- Serious accidents and safety events over recent years.
- Fleet age and aircraft maintenance profile.
- Pilot training practices and internal safety culture.
- Results from international safety and IOSA audits.
For the 2026 report, the index places greater emphasis on turbulence prevention and cockpit safety measures, reflecting the fact that turbulence remains the leading cause of in-flight injuries. Despite every airline on the list experiencing some incidents—from tail strikes to engine shutdowns—the incident rate per flight across the Top 25 sits between just 0.002 and 0.09, which Petersen calls a “true credit to the industry as a whole.”
Safest Low-Cost Airlines: HK Express, Jetstar and Scoot
In the low-cost category, Hong Kong-based HK Express has been named the world’s safest budget airline for 2026, retaining its top position for a second time. Jetstar Airways, part of the Qantas Group, ranked second, giving Australia another strong result, while Scoot, the low-cost arm of Singapore Airlines, placed third.
HK Express was praised for its modern fleet, exceptionally low incident rate and near-flawless onboard safety audits—particularly noteworthy given Hong Kong’s very strict incident reporting requirements. Other low-cost names in the Top 10 include flydubai, EasyJet Group, Southwest, airBaltic, VietJet Air, Wizz Air Group and AirAsia Group.
Why These Rankings Matter for Travellers
For travellers comparing airlines on busy routes across Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, the 2026 AirlineRatings.com list offers an independent snapshot of global safety leaders. However, Petersen stresses that all airlines in the Top 25 full-service and low-cost lists are considered world-class in safety terms, and that claims one is “significantly safer” than another within these groups are more sensationalist than factual.
For Australian flyers, the results reinforce that choosing Qantas, Virgin Australia or Jetstar means flying with carriers recognised at the very top of global safety benchmarking—complementing their recent rankings among the most punctual airlines in the Asia-Pacific region.
