By: Economy Middle east

Etihad Airways has emerged as the safest airline in the world in 2026, according to the latest AirlineRatings 2026 list. Regional carriers made their presence notable among the top five airlines, with Qatar Airways coming in fourth place and Emirates ranking fifith.

Rounding out the top 5 were Cathay Pacific in second place and Qantas in third place.

“This is the first year a Gulf carrier has taken the number one spot. Etihad achieved this through a combination of factors: a young fleet, advancements in cockpit safety, particularly around turbulence, a crash-free history and the lowest incident rate per flight of any airline on the list. The airline also participated in our independent onboard safety audit and demonstrated excellent adherence to turbulence management in the cabin,” said Sharon Petersen, CEO of AirlineRatings.

AirlineRating also announced the list of the top 25 safest low-cost airlines for 2026, featuring flydubai is 4th place, WizzAir in 9th place and FlyNas in 15th place.

Turbulence prevention gains importance

In compiling the safest airlines 2026 list, Petersen stressed that it is important for the traveling public to understand just how narrow the margins are between the world’s safest airlines, and that small numerical differences should not be interpreted as gaps in safety.

“What stands out this year is how little separates the leaders. 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 explained.

“We may be reaching a point where traditional rankings risk being misleading, and where grouping airlines into performance tiers provides a more accurate reflection of reality. All airlines in the Top 25 are world leaders in aviation safety, and claims that one is significantly safer or less safe than another are both sensationalist and false,” she added.

Explaining the methodology behind the rankings, she noted that much of the criteria remains consistent year on year and considers incident rates adjusted for the total number of flights, fleet age, serious incidents, pilot training and international safety audits.

“One change for this year is that we are placing a greater emphasis on turbulence prevention, as it remains the leading cause of in-flight injuries. To support this, we consider an airline’s participation in the IATA Turbulence Aware program or equivalent, as well as the Airline Ratings onboard safety audit. Transparency from airlines is also critical to this process,” she said.

STARLUX and Fiji Airways make their debut in 2026

In addition to Etihad Airways becoming the first Gulf carrier to take the number one spot on the safest airlines list for 2026, other notable inclusions include STARLUX and Fiji Airways, both making their list debut.

“While we generally would not include a relatively young airline such as STARLUX, their approach to safety and transparency is exceptional, and the fact that other leading airlines talk about them really says it all,” says Petersen.

She added that another change that will be welcomed by readers is the reinstatement of Singapore Airlines, which was excluded in 2025 following a serious turbulence-related incident. After visiting their safety and training center and holding extensive discussions with their operations team, AirlineRatings added them back on the list.

Top 25 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