UAE-based carriers Emirates and Etihad Airways have been ranked among the safest airlines on earth, according to an annual study of the world’s biggest airlines.

Data released by AirlineRatings showed the two carriers leading in the charge in terms of safety, innovation and fleet expansion, making them the only Gulf carriers to make it into the top 20.

The aircraft safety and product rating site has reviewed more than 400 carriers and rated each of them based on crash data, as well as information and audits from governments and regulatory bodies in the aviation industry.

The rest of the 20 safest airlines for 2018, in alphabetical order, are:

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• Air New Zealand
• Alaska Airlines
• All Nippon Airways
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific Airways
• EVA Air
• Finnair
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Japan Airlines
• KLM
• Lufthansa
• Qantas
• Royal Jordanian Airlines
• Scandinavian Airline System
• Singapore Airlines
• Swiss
• Virgin Atlantic
• Virgin Australia.

AirlineRatings editor-in-chief Geoffrey Thomas said the 20 airlines are “standouts in the industry and are at the forefront of safety, innovation and launching of new aircraft.”

“For instance, Australia’s Qantas has been recognised by the British Advertising Standards Association in a test case as the world’s most experienced airline.”

"Qantas has been the lead airline in virtually every major operational safety advancement over the past 60 years and has not had a fatality in the jet era,” said Thomas. “But Qantas is not alone. Long established airlines such as Hawaiian and Finnair have perfect records in the jet era.”

AirlineRatings was launched in June 2013 and rates the safety and in-flight product of 409 airlines using its unique seven-star rating system. - TradeArabia News Service