Scoot is the world’s 3rd safest low-cost airline, while SIA takes 7th in the full-service category

Singapore’s airlines have landed strong results in a global aviation safety ranking for 2026 – Scoot clinched third place among the world’s safest low-cost carriers, while Singapore Airlines took seventh spot in the full-service category.

The annual ranking, published by airline safety and product rating platform Airline Ratings, assessed 320 airlines for 2026, excluding carriers operating fewer than 25 aircraft. Airlines were evaluated across criteria including incident rates, fleet age and size, fatalities, and compliance with international audits and safety standards set by organisations such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

This year, Scoot, the low-cost arm of SIA, landed on the podium behind Hong Kong’s HK Express and Jetstar Australia, making it the highest-ranked Asean airline on the low-cost list. It last appeared in the rankings in 2023, when the top 25 safest low-cost airlines were named without being ranked. The only other Southeast Asian name to make the cut was AirAsia, which placed 10th.

On the full-service side, Etihad Airways topped the list as the world’s safest airline for 2026, followed by Cathay Pacific and Qantas. Singapore Airlines came in seventh, extending a long track record of appearances on the list. Since 2014, SIA has featured almost every year – placing fourth in 2022, fifth in 2023, and 13th in 2024. The only year it missed out was 2025, when its safety assessment was impacted by the SQ321 incident in May 2024, which involved severe turbulence, one fatality, and multiple injuries.

All in all, for the anxious flyers out there: it is with evidence that air travel remains statistically the safest mode of transport. IATA’s 2024 Annual Safety Report, released in February 2025, recorded an accident rate of just 1.13 per million flights, with fatality risk staying low at 0.06.

Here are the top 10 safest low-cost airlines in 2026:

1. HK Express
2. Jetstar Australia
3. Scoot
4. FlyDubai
5. EasyJet Group
6. Southwest Airlines
7. AirBaltic
8. Vietjet Air
9. Wizz Air Group
10. AirAsia Group

Here are the top 10 safest full-service airlines in 2026:

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

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