Three of the five airlines servicing Gibraltar International Airport have been recognised as among the safest in the world. In an authoritative annual ranking compiled by AirlineRatings.com, British Airways was included among the top 20 safest airlines in the world for 2022, and EasyJet and Wizz Air were rated as two of the leading 10 safest low-cost airlines.
Launched in June 2013, AirlineRatings rates the safety, in-flight product and COVID-19 compliance of 385 airlines using a seven-star rating system that has become an industry standard.
According to AirlineRatings, “Low-cost carriers (LCCs) have allowed millions of people to travel for the first time or to take trips they would otherwise be unable to afford.”
The factors used to decide the top 10 safest low-cost airlines include: incident records over the past two years, crash records over the past five years, results of audits conducted by the governing body of aviation (International Civil Aviation Organisation), EU banned lists and fleet age.
For 2022, the top 10, in alphabetical order, are: Allegiant, EasyJet, Frontier, Jetstar Group, Jetblue, Ryanair, Vietjet, Volaris, Westjet and Wizz Air.
As for the the top 20 safest airlines for 2022, Air New Zealand leads the way, followed by (in order of ranking), Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, SAS, Qantas, Alaska Airlines, EVA Air, Virgin Australia/Atlantic, Cathay Pacific Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, American Airlines, Lufthansa/Swiss Group, Finnair, Air France/KLM Group, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Emirates.
“These airlines are standouts in the industry,” said AirlineRatings.com editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas, “and are at the forefront of safety, innovation and launching of new aircraft.”
To determine the list, Thomas said the editors analyse: crashes over five years, serious incidents over two years, audits from aviation’s governing bodies and lead associations, government audits, fleet age and COVID protocols.
“However all airlines have incidents every day, and many are aircraft or engine manufacture issues, not airline operational problems. It is the way the flight crew handles these incidents that determines a good airline from an unsafe one.”
For passengers wanting to compare the safety ratings of more than 385 airlines, AirlineRatings offers its own safety tool here.