This Airline Was Just Ranked the Safest in the World

Air New Zealand edged out Australian flag carrier Qantas to earn the top spot on the airline safety review site AirlineRatings.com for World's Safest Airlines for 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," the site's editor noted in revealing its coveted list. "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."

Air New Zealand also was the first airline in the world to require domestic passengers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or test negative for COVID-19 prior to boarding. It even turned one of its 787's into a vaccine clinic last fall.

On Feb. 1, the airline will also require international passengers to be vaccinated.

"The Air New Zealand promise is to take manaaki (care) further. To do that we have to take our approach to safety further. For us, it's not about safety first – it's about safety always. We want everyone to go home safely every day," Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran said in a statement shared by AirlineRatings.com.

Qantas lost the top spot on the website's list due to a near collision on an airport runway in Perth. The official report on that incident was released too late in 2020 to be factored into the 2021 list, the site said.

AirlineRating.com's annual list covers 385 airlines and examines a number of factors, including an airline's crash record, safety programs, and results of government and industry safety audits.

And while Air New Zealand claimed the top spot, each airline on this year's top 20 is a standout, according to Foran. "[These] airlines have always been at the forefront of safety innovation, launching new aircraft and they have become a byword for excellence," he said.

Find AirlineRatings.com's Top 20 World's Safest Airlines is below:

Air New Zealand

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

Emirates

Meena Thiruvengadam loves wandering new streets and discovering the world's stories. Find her on Facebook, Instagram, or at the airport, and subscribe to her newsletter.