Qantas has just been named the 3rd safest airline in the world – but Jetstar’s ranking might surprise you

It’s been a big month for airline rankings – and Australian carriers are flying high across the board. To start, Virgin and Qantas both ranked among the world’s most on-time airlines. Qantas backed it up by earning the title of the fifth-best long-haul airline, and then the Melbourne-Sydney route was named the sixth-most popular flight path of 2025. Now, there’s a new ranking to celebrate – the world’s safest airlines – where Australia came close to topping both the full-service and low-cost categories.

Every year, the aptly-named AirlineRatings.com evaluates 320 operators on a bunch of safety criteria, including number of flights, fleet age, incident rates, pilot training and international safety audits. In 2026, extra emphasis was placed on turbulence prevention, which is the leading cause of in-flight injuries. The results are then ranked to reveal the world’s 25 safest airlines, split into full-service and budget categories.

For the very first time, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways claimed the top spot as the safest full-service airline in the world. AirlineRatings.com CEO Sharon Petersen credits its “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.”

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific overtook Qantas to claim second place, but the Flying Kangaroo can still celebrate a bronze medal finish. Virgin Australia also cracked the top ten, though it slipped from fourth place in 2025 to ninth in 2026.

This year, Australia’s real winner is Jetstar. Our leading budget airline might cop a lot of slack, but it ranked as the second-safest low-cost airline in the world for 2026. It was beaten only by Hong Kong-based HK Express, which held onto the top spot for another year. You can check out the top 25 airlines here, or see Australia’s rankings below.

The world's 10 safest full-service airlines for 2026

1. Etihad
2. Cathay Pacific
3. Qantas
4. Qatar
5. Emirates
6. Air New Zealand
7. Singapore Airlines
8. EVA Air
9. Virgin Australia
10. Korean Air

The world's 10 safest low-cost airlines for 2026

1. HK Express
2. Jetstar Airways
3. Scoot
4. flydubai 
5. EasyJet Group
6. Southwest
7. airBaltic
8. VietJet Air
9. Wizz Air Group
10. AirAsia Group

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✈️ Check out the world's safest airlines rankings from 2025 here

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