Aviation plays a vital role in providing global connectivity. While air travel is essential for economic growth as it enables tourism and business travel, the safety of passengers is once again in sharp focus following the tragic accident involving Air India flight AI171 near Ahmedabad airport. Amid this, AirlineRatings.com has released its 2025 rankings of the world's safest full-service airlines. These airlines have been categorised into two categories: Full-Service Airlines and Low-Cost Airlines.
Several factors are considered before finalising the list. Some of them are fleet age, fleet size, rate of incidents, pilot skill and training, etc. The ranking is based on the extensive evaluation of 385 airlines.
Is Air India In This List?
Air India is not among the Top 25 Safest Airlines in either category. However, IndiGo has managed to make the list of low-cost airlines.
Top 10 Full-Service Airlines for 2025 are:
- Air New Zealand
- Qantas
- Cathay Pacific; Qatar Airways; Emirates
- Virgin Australia
- Etihad Airways
- ANA
- EVA Air
- Korean Air
- Alaska Airlines
- Turkish Airlines (THY)
Top 10 Safest Low-Cost Airlines for 2025 are:
- HK Express
- Jetstar Group
- Ryanair
- easyJet
- Frontier Airlines
- AirAsia
- Wizz Air
- VietJet Air
- Southwest Airlines
- Volaris
Safety Ratings for Major Indian Airlines
AirlineRatings.com has also released data about how India’s major airlines are currently rated. It uses the 7-star airline safety rating system to prepare this list. This 7-star system is based on three core pillars - pilot-related safety incidents, fatal accidents, and global audit performance.
According to the list, SpiceJet is the leader among Indian carriers with a full 7 out of 7 stars. IndiGo and Akasa Air both received a solid 6 out of 7 stars.
"SpiceJet and Akasa Air maintain relatively clean records, partly due to the smaller size of their fleets. SpiceJet retains a full 7-star safety rating, while Akasa scores 6 out of 7 stars. The slight deduction for Akasa is due to the absence of IOSA certification," it said.
It is important to note that IndiGo has managed to get the a respectable 6/7 safety despite being one of the largest airlines in the region with a fleet of over 413 aircraft. Larger operation results in a higher number of reported incidents simply due to volume. IndiGo has not been involved in any fatal incidents but has recorded several operational safety events.