Any nervous flier who has proven anxiety over boarding a plane has little question had somebody inform them that aviation is the safest form of transportation.
And whereas that’s true, it’s an summary thought that provides little consolation throughout a bumpy flight or emergency touchdown. The proof—and reassurance—is in the numbers, and considered one of the high security knowledge factors that fliers can perceive at a look is Airline Ratings’ annual record of the most secure airways in the world.
Every 12 months, the security specialists at Airline Ratings look at 320 airways round the globe to tabulate total security scores. The firm makes use of knowledge akin to security incident charges versus the airline’s whole variety of flights, fleet age, severe incidents, pilot coaching, and worldwide security audits to calculate each carriers’ rating.
In 2026, the firm discovered spectacular outcomes for greater than two dozen carriers. “What stands out this year is how little separates the leaders,” Sharon Petersen, Airline Ratings’ CEO, stated in a statement. The high 6 airways have been separated by a margin of simply 1.3 factors, in line with Petersen, and positions 1 via 14 spanned a distinction of lower than 4 factors.
That signifies that passengers ought to really feel safe boarding any of the airways on the record. Each provider in the rankings had incident charges of 0.09 per flight or much less. “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,” Petersen stated.
New to the scoring in 2026 is a larger emphasis positioned on turbulence prevention, as it’s presently the main reason for in-flight accidents, in line with Petersen. To choose carriers’ turbulence prevention, Petersen’s crew checked out whether or not airways take part in a program from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that makes use of new software program to assist pilots keep away from tough air or in the event that they use a related type of know-how in the cockpit.
Here are the most secure airways to fly in 2026, primarily based on Airline Ratings’ knowledge.
The most secure airline in the world
For the first time ever, Etihad has been named the world’s most secure airline. The Abu Dhabi-based provider has beforehand scored excessive marks on the annual security rating—coming in fifth place final 12 months—however has by no means earlier than taken the high spot.
There have been a number of causes that Etihad shot as much as No. 1 this 12 months, in line with Petersen. The provider operates a fleet of newer planes, and it additionally has a crash-free historical past. In 2026, it had the lowest incident price of any of the 25 airways on the record.
Additionally, Petersen stated that Etihad made developments in cockpit security in 2025 to keep away from turbulence. In April 2025, Etihad deployed IATA’s new know-how throughout its total fleet. The software program collects turbulence knowledge from surrounding flights in the space and helps pilots and flight dispatchers discover the smoothest doable flight path.
“The airline also participated in our independent onboard safety audit and demonstrated excellent adherence to turbulence management in the cabin,” Petersen stated. Etihad’s win additionally marks the first time a Gulf provider has been named the most secure airline in the world by Airline Ratings.
The high 25 most secure airways in the world
There have been notable modifications to the remainder of the security rating this 12 months as effectively. Two airways made their first-ever debut on the record: Fiji Airways and Taiwan-based Starlux, which started operations in 2020. “While we generally would not include a relatively young airline such as STARLUX, their approach to safety and transparency is exceptional, and the fact other leading airlines talk about them really says it all,” Petersen stated.