The World's 10 Safest Airlines for 2022

Leading safety, product, and COVID-19 rating website, AirlineRatings.com, has revealed its annual rankings of the world's safest airlines. This year's top 10 list has been shaken up a bit but travelers will find plenty of familiar names among the best for safety and security heading into 2022. Here's a look at how the top 10 shakes out.

Virgin Australia/Atlantic rises one spot from 2021 to round out the top 10 for 2022. The brand has been in the news more for bankruptcy issues of late but nonetheless continues to excel at getting passengers to their destinations without issue.

Taiwan's EVA Air or Evergreen Airways is down three spots from 2021 but remains firmly in the top 10. The airline famous for its Hello Kitty-themed planes and flights continues to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic better than most carriers around the globe, according to AirlineRatings.com's research.

Alaska Airlines, which was at the forefront of the transition to touch-free at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, remains in the number eight spot for 2022. Alaska maintains its bragging rights as the safest airline in the U.S.

Australia's flag carrier, Qantas fell six spots from number one due to an incident at Perth Airport in 2018, when "a combination of factors caused a 737 crew that had just exited runway 03 to taxi past stop bars and enter an active runway almost colliding with another company 737 on its take-off roll. The report into that complex and serious incident was not issued till late 2020, and too late to be included in our 2021 safety rankings," AirlineRatings.com stated.

Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is one of the biggest risers this year, climbing 10 spots from 16th in 2021 to sixth in 2022. The Stockholm, Sweden-based airline boasts a stellar safety record, of course, and has implemented enhanced health and safety protocols in response to the pandemic.

It might come as a surprise that TAP Air Portugal is the safest airline in Europe and the fifth-safest in the world this year. The Lisbon-based carrier has been around for more than 75 years and operates hundreds of flights each week to dozens of destinations around the world.

Singapore Airlines remains the world's fourth-safest airline for 2022. The high praise is nothing new for the consistent carrier though as its been named the world's best airline by Skytrax several times in recent years.

Gulf carrier Qatar Airways dropped one spot from its second-place ranking in 2021, faring as the third-safest airline in 2022. Qatar was the first to introduce 100 percent touchless technology for its in-flight entertainment system last year.

Etihad Airways, which began rolling out the IATA Travel Pass in several cities last year, is up a remarkable five spots from last year, ranking as the world's second-safest carrier for 2022.

Air New Zealand is up two spots from last year all the way to number one in 2022. "Air New Zealand is a stand-out airline with a firm focus on safety and its customers and over the past 18 months, COVID-19 has brought another new dimension to the challenges the industry faces," Airlineratings.com Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Thomas said in a statement. "Air New Zealand has excelled across the broad safety spectrum never losing sight of the smallest detail while caring for its flight crews who have worked under significant stress."