In the aftermath of the deadly crash of Air India flight AI171 in Ahmedabad on June 12, aviation safety is once again in sharp focus. As global concern over airline operations mounts, AirlineRatings.com has released its 2025 list of the world’s safest full-service and low-cost airlines.
The rankings, based on an extensive evaluation of 385 airlines, consider factors including crash and serious incident history over the past two years, fleet age and size, pilot training, profitability and certifications from international safety bodies like IOSA and ICAO.
Where does Air India stand in the ratings?
Among Indian carriers, IndiGo and AirAsia India have made it to the Top 25 Safest Low-Cost Airlines list. However, Air India, Air India Express, SpiceJet and Akasa Air did not feature in the global safety rankings, especially in the wake of AI171’s devastating crash.
The AirlineRatings.com also released a list of Indian airlines and ranked them out of seven stars, “based on three core pillars: pilot-related safety incidents, fatal accidents and global audit performance”, it said. According to that list, SpiceJet leads among Indian carriers with a full 7 out of 7 stars. IndiGo and Akasa Air both received a solid 6 out of 7 stars.
Air India, however, earned only 4 out of 7 stars. Air India Express ranked the lowest among the group, with just 2 out of 7 stars.
10 safest full-service airlines of 2025
- Air New Zealand
- Qantas
- Cathay Pacific
- Qatar Airways
- Emirates
- Virgin Australia
- Etihad Airways
- ANA
- EVA Air
- Korean Air
Other major carriers like Turkish Airlines, British Airways, Lufthansa, JAL, and Air Canada also feature in the top 25 list.
Safest low-cost carriers
In the low-cost category, top performers include Ryanair, easyJet, Southwest, JetBlue, AirAsia, IndiGo and Norwegian. New entrants for 2025 include Iberia and Vietnam Airlines in the full-service category, while Korean Air made a significant climb into the top 10.