Royal Jordanian (RJ) has been listed as one of the top 20 safest airlines in the world, according to the annual list of the world’s safest airlines released by AirlineRatings.com, the Australia-based aviation analysis website.

The safety-rating system of this list was developed with the help of the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

The top 20 safest carriers were selected from a pool of 409 airlines based on their compliance with international regulators, the age of their fleet of aircraft, fatality record over the past 10 years, their results from Iata’s safety audits and whether their countries of origin conform with ICAO’s safety parameter.

The listing was done in alphabetical order; no winner was selected among the 20 airlines, which were Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, All Nippon Airways, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways, Eva Air, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines, Japan Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Qantas, Royal Jordanian, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Swiss Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia.

Royal Jordanian has been constantly awarded the Iata Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) and the Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (SAFA), which is carried out at the airline outstations by the civil aviation authorities of the countries where the airline operates.

Additionally, Jordan’s Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission (CARC) conducts regular audits of Royal Jordanian operations and flights to ensure they are in full compliance with local and international requirements, in addition to the internal audits carried out by the airline itself.

RJ’s president and CEO, Stefan Pichler, said: “We are proud to be rated among the 20 safest air carriers in the whole world. We strictly abide by international rules and regulations of air and ground safety. We also make sure to maintain our high international position, and continue service improvement to increase RJ’s competitiveness in the market.”

"This global rating of Royal Jordanian reflects the company's operational effectiveness, its functioning with the highest degree of air safety and its adherence to international practices, which ensure that it offers a distinguished level of air and ground safety," Pichler added.

He noted that RJ regularly develops technology, renovates its fleet of aircraft, and works on developing the capacity of the staff and flight crew through extensive training sessions in Jordan and overseas. - TradeArabia News Service