World’s safest (and least safe) airlines for 2023: Qantas reclaims top spot in global list

Qantas has reclaimed its title of the world's safest airline in this year's rankings, with two Australian carriers featuring in the global top 10. The Flying Kangaroo beat more than 384 carriers across the globe to take back its number one spot, after briefly dropping to seventh place last year in the wake of a serious mishap. The Australian airline has consistently ranked highly in the global list by airline safety and product review website AirlineRatings.com, taking the number one spot from 2014 to 2017, then again from 2019 to 2020. In fact, Qantas has only lost its top spot twice in recent times: once in 2018, when AirlineRatings.com ranked its top 20 equally, then again in 2022, when it fell six places following a safety incident at Perth Airport, involving a near miss between two aircraft during takeoff. According to AirlineRatings.com, Qantas overthrew last year's winner Air New Zealand by the narrowest of margins. Virgin Australia retained its equal 10th place alongside Virgin Atlantic. Story has full list of the top and bottom 20 airlines. AirlineRatings.com editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas praised all 20 airlines for being at the forefront of safety, innovation, and for launching new aircraft. "The safety margins between these top 20 airlines are very small, they are all outstanding airlines," said Thomas. Qantas was singled out by the website for amassing an expansive record of firsts in operations and safety over the course of its 100-year operational history.<br/>