Two Canadian carriers make “world’s safest airlines” list

A new report has identified the world’s safest airlines, with two Canadian carriers earning a spot on the list.

AirlineRatings.com — which bills itself as the world’s only airline safety and product ratings platform — has released its 2026 rankings of the 25 safest full-service airlines and the 25 safest low-cost carriers worldwide.

Air Canada landed at No. 22 on the full-service list, slipping slightly from its No. 20 position last year.

Claiming the top spot among full-service airlines for 2026 was Abu Dhabi–based Etihad Airways, marking the first time a Gulf carrier has ranked No. 1.

The airline’s placement was attributed to several factors, including its modern aircraft, enhanced cockpit safety measures, a crash-free record and the lowest incident rate per flight among all airlines on this year’s list.

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific finished second, followed by Australia’s Qantas Airways in third.

In the low-cost category, Calgary-based WestJet (which is more of a hybrid airline) ranked No. 23, down from No. 16 in last year’s standings.

Leading the 2026 list of safest low-cost airlines was Hong Kong’s HK Express, while Australia’s Jetstar Airways took second place, while Singapore’s Scoot ranked third.

Minimal differences

AirlineRatings.com emphasized that the differences between the world’s safest airlines are minimal, cautioning travellers not to view small numerical gaps as meaningful safety distinctions.

“What stands out this year is how little separates the leaders,” stated CEO Sharon Petersen.  “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.”

“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.”

The methodology used to compile the rankings remains consistent with previous years and includes factors such as incident rates adjusted for flight volume, fleet age, the number of serious incidents, pilot training standards and international safety audits across the 320 airlines tracked by the organization.

“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,” said Petersen. “To support this, we consider an airline’s participation in the IATA Turbulence Aware programme or equivalent, as well as the Airline Ratings onboard safety audit. Transparency from airlines is also critical to this process.”

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