So, these are the world’s safest and least safe airlines for 2025, according to aviation experts

After the tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, where a London-bound flight went down shortly after take-off, and only one person is believed to have survived, questions about airline safety are once again in the spotlight. The first eyewitness accounts described the Air India plane crash scene.

While experts have weighed in on what could have caused the crash, many people are now wondering which airlines are the safest to fly with and which are not.

AirlineRatings.com, the world’s only airline safety and product rating website, has released its list of the top 25 safest full-service airlines and the top 25 safest low-cost airlines for 2025. Here are the rankings.

So, the least safe airlines in 2025:

While AirlineRatings.com does not publish a list of the “worst” airlines, it does use a star rating system based on strict safety criteria. Right now, 12 airlines have received just one star, the lowest possible safety rating. These airlines have been flagged due to poor safety records, failed audits, or lack of transparency in how they manage operations.

Here are the 12 airlines with a one-star safety rating:

1. Aeroflot (Russia)

2. Air Peace (Nigeria)

3. Beijing Capital Airlines (China)

4. Montenegro Airlines

5. Pakistan International Airlines (Pakistan)

6. Pobeda (Russia)

7. Precision Air (Tanzania)

8. Rossiya (Russia)

9. Ural Airlines (Russia)

10. US-Bangla Airlines (Bangladesh)

11. UTair (Russia)

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12. Wings Air (Indonesia)

Many of these airlines come from countries that did not pass international aviation safety audits. Some, like Aeroflot and PIA, have previously faced bans from flying in parts of Europe due to safety concerns.

So, the top 25 safest full-service airlines for 2025:

1. Air New Zealand

2. Qantas

3. Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, Emirates (three-way tie)

4. Virgin Australia

5. Etihad Airways

6. ANA (All Nippon Airways)

7. EVA Air

8. Korean Air

9. Alaska Airlines

10. Turkish Airlines

11. TAP Portugal

12. Hawaiian Airlines

13. American Airlines

14. SAS

15. British Airways

16. Iberia

17. Finnair

18. Lufthansa and Swiss

19. Japan Airlines (JAL)

20. Air Canada

21. Delta Airlines

22. Vietnam Airlines

23. United Airlines

Compared to last year’s list, there were some notable changes. Iberia and Vietnam Airlines made their first appearance in the top 25, while Korean Air climbed into the top 10. Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines and KLM, although still highly rated for safety, just missed out on making the cut due to incidents that occurred in the last year.

Now, the top 25 safest low-cost airlines for 2025:

1. HK Express

2. Jetstar Group

3. Ryanair

4. easyJet

5. Frontier Airlines

6. AirAsia

7. Wizz Air

8. VietJet Air

9. Southwest Airlines

10. Volaris

11. flydubai

12. Norwegian

13. Vueling

14. Jet2

15. Sun Country Airlines

16. WestJet

17. JetBlue Airways

18. Air Arabia

19. IndiGo

20. Eurowings

21. Allegiant Air

22. Cebu Pacific

23. Zipair

24. SKY Airline

25. Air Baltic

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This year saw several changes in the low-cost category too. HK Express claimed the top spot due to its flawless safety record and lack of serious incidents. New entries include Jet2, Zipair, and Air Baltic. On the other hand, Spirit Airlines dropped off the list after filing for bankruptcy protection in late 2024, which automatically disqualified it from being included.

The experts behind these lists use several key factors to decide which airlines are safest. These include the number of serious incidents in recent years, fatality records, the average age and size of the fleet, how well the airline performs in international safety audits like IOSA and ICAO, and even how financially stable the company is. Financial stress can affect maintenance standards and overall operations, so it plays a role in determining overall safety.

Another major factor is how airlines and their crews handle incidents. Problems happen in aviation, sometimes daily, but well-trained pilots and cabin crew can often prevent them from becoming tragedies. It’s also important to understand that some safety incidents are caused by manufacturing issues rather than the airline’s own failures.

AirlineRatings.com, in partnership with Skyscanner, launched a new flight search tool where people can compare flights based on safety, price, and duration, all in one place.

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