These are the safest airlines to fly in 2021

Airlines safety standards have always been an influential factor when it comes to choosing who to fly with. And after a year tainted by the coronavirus pandemic, this now extends to what airlines are doing to protect our health. As such, a new list revealing the top 20 COVID-safe airlines has also been recorded.

Each year, Airlineratings.com monitors 385 airlines to determine the top 20 safest airlines in the world and the top 10 safest low-cost airlines.

To determine the winners, they take into consideration: crash and serious injury records; audits from government and industry bodies; industry-leading safety initiatives; and fleet age.

Topping the latest list of the world’s safest airlines is Qantas – yet again. The carrier has held the No.1 spot every year since 2014, except for 2018 when the site did not to rank its top 20.

“Over its 100-year history, Qantas has amassed a truly amazing record of firsts in operations and safety and is now accepted as the industry’s most experienced airline,” AirlineRatings.com editors said.

In fact, most of the top airlines are known for their aircraft innovation and safety, according to Airlineratings.com editor Geoffrey Thomas.

“There is very little between the top 20, they are all standouts,” Thomas said.

The top 20 safest airlines 2021

Qantas
Qatar Airways
Air New Zealand
Singapore Airlines
Emirates
EVA Air
Etihad Airways
Alaska Airlines
Cathay Pacific Airways
British Airways
Virgin Australia/Virgin Atlantic
Hawaiian Airlines
Southwest Airlines
Delta Air Lines
American Airlines
SAS
Finnair
Lufthansa
KLM
United Airlines

Top 10 Safest Low-Cost Airlines for 2021

The website also listed the 10 safest low-cost airlines, in recognition that budget travel should also be safe. In alphabetical order they are:

Air Arabia
Allegiant
easyjet
Frontier
Jetstar Group
Jetblue
Ryanair
Vietjet
Westjet
Wizz

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Top 20 COVID-safe airlines

For the first time in history, Airlineratings.com also listed the top 20 airlines for COVID-19 compliance.

Each of the airlines on the list has “gone above and beyond” to protect passengers and make travel flexible.

“For instance, Qatar Airways has provided face shields as well as masks and Emirates introduce COVID-19 health insurance and an individual health kit,” Thomas said.

The website surveyed 430 airlines for COVID-19 compliance and found many had changed their policies to achieve the highest ranking.

“Now 119 airlines achieve the highest COVID-19 rating of seven stars but it is disappointing to see that 117 get a zero for compliance, or have no information for the public on their COVID policies on their website,” Thomas said.