Ranking
Safest Airlines in Asia and the Pacific 2026
Every airline we cover whose home country is in East, South-East, South or Central Asia, Australia or New Zealand. Gulf and other Middle Eastern airlines are not included; they appear in the world ranking. Scores combine the accident record over 20 years with the regulator, fleet, serious incidents and network.
Updated · Scores update with each page
The ranking
Scoot
Scoot, Singapore Airlines' low-cost arm, has never had a fatal accident or lost an aircraft. It is overseen by CAAS, which scored 99.7% in ICAO's 2022 audit, and its 63 jets average under six years. Points go for a 787 that lost a nose wheel in 2023, a tail strike and two turbulence encounters with serious injuries.
Score 90, grade AAll Nippon Airways (ANA)
ANA has not had a crash with deaths since 1971, flies one of the largest Boeing 787 fleets in the world and is overseen by a strong regulator. The blemish is recent and on the ground, not in the air, with falsified maintenance records found in 2025.
Score 89, grade AQantas
Qantas has one of the cleanest long-term records of any large airline. No passenger or crew member has died in a Qantas accident since 1951, and it has never lost a jet. The catch is an ageing fleet that is only now being replaced.
Score 89, grade AAir New Zealand
Air New Zealand has not had a fatal accident on its own flights since the 1979 Erebus disaster, and it has lost no aircraft since. Oversight is strong. Points go for a cluster of serious incidents on its regional turboprops since 2023 and Q300s that average 19 years old.
Score 88, grade AVirgin Australia
Virgin Australia has never had a fatal accident or lost an aircraft since it started as Virgin Blue in 2000, and CASA regulates it. It came through administration in 2020 and relisted in 2025. Points go for take-off and approach errors since 2022 and a fleet averaging 11.5 years.
Score 88, grade AEVA Air
EVA Air has flown since 1991 without a fatal accident or a hull loss, one of the cleanest records of any long-haul airline. A 2026 cockpit assault case and a 2025 crew death that exposed sick-leave rules are reminders that culture matters as much as hardware.
Score 87, grade AJetstar Airways
Jetstar Airways, the Qantas Group's low-cost airline in Australia and New Zealand, has never had a fatal accident or written off an aircraft. Its fleet is being renewed with A321LRs. Points go for several approaches and go-arounds that investigators found poorly flown, and for IOSA registration we could not confirm.
Score 87, grade APeach Aviation
Peach, ANA's low-cost airline, has had no fatal accident, no hull loss and no injury accident since it started flying in 2012, under Japan's demanding regulator. It loses points for four serious incidents investigated by the JTSB, two of them caused by its own crews, and a captain who drank before a flight in 2025.
Score 87, grade AHK Express
HK Express, Cathay Pacific's low-cost subsidiary, has no fatal accident or hull loss on record and flies a young A320-family fleet. Its one serious event is a September 2025 runway excursion in Hong Kong during a No. 8 gale signal, still under investigation.
Score 86, grade ACathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific has not had a fatal crash since 1967 and has lost no aircraft in an accident since then. Recent serious incidents, including an A350 engine fire in 2024 and two go-around tail strikes, and some of the oldest widebodies in Asia keep it below the very top.
Score 85, grade AChina Southern Airlines
China Southern has not had a fatal accident since a Boeing 737 crashed at Shenzhen in May 1997, and its group fleet of 973 aircraft averages 9.4 years. The main gaps are how little China's regulator publishes about incidents and a 2024 hard landing that kept a 787 out of service for 14 months.
Score 85, grade AHainan Airlines
Hainan Airlines has never had a fatal accident or lost an aircraft since it began flying in 1993. Its group fleet of 367 aircraft averages 10.4 years, and like other Chinese airlines it is overseen by a regulator that publishes little about incidents.
Score 85, grade ASingapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines has one of the youngest fleets of any major airline and a regulator with the highest ICAO audit score ever recorded. One passenger died on SQ321 in 2024, its first death in an accident since 2000.
Score 85, grade AStarlux Airlines
Starlux has flown since 2020 with no accident, and its all-Airbus fleet is among the youngest in Asia. Its record is short, though, and crew events such as a bounced landing in a typhoon in 2024 and a go-around that broke company rules in 2025, show a young airline still building experience.
Score 85, grade AJapan Airlines (JAL)
JAL has had no passenger death since 1985, and its crew got all 379 people out of a burning A350 after the Haneda runway collision of January 2024. Repeated pilot alcohol cases and the loss of that A350 keep it below ANA.
Score 84, grade BKorean Air
Korean Air had one of the worst records of any major airline until the late 1990s and has had no fatal passenger accident since. An A330 overrun at Cebu in 2022 and an ageing long-haul fleet are the weak points. In December 2026 it absorbs Asiana.
Score 84, grade BSichuan Airlines
Sichuan Airlines has never had a fatal accident or lost an aircraft. Its best-known event, flight 3U8633 in 2018, was a near-disaster when a cockpit windshield blew out over the mountains; the cause was a failed seal and the crew landed safely. It flies only Airbus jets, partly over high Tibetan terrain.
Score 84, grade BSpring Airlines
Spring Airlines, China's best-known low-cost airline, has flown since 2005 without a fatal accident or a lost aircraft, using 138 Airbus A320-family jets averaging 8.7 years. It loses points because it is not in IATA, so its IOSA audit is unconfirmed, and because China's regulator publishes little.
Score 84, grade BIndiGo
IndiGo has flown since 2006 without a fatal accident or a hull loss, on one of the youngest fleets in the world. Its weak points are a run of Pratt & Whitney engine failures, a 2023 near miss at Delhi and the December 2025 rostering collapse that brought a record regulatory fine.
Score 81, grade BShenzhen Airlines
Shenzhen Airlines, 51% owned by Air China, has had no fatal accident of its own since 1992. Repeated landing incidents hold it back, above all a 2020 touchdown short of the runway at Panzhihua that the captain took about an hour to report. The 2010 crash of its then subsidiary Henan Airlines is not counted.
Score 81, grade BVietnam Airlines
Vietnam Airlines has had no fatal crash since 1997 and flies a mostly modern Airbus and Boeing fleet. Its record now carries one serious mark, the August 2026 take-off at Munich, where a 787-9 lifted off from the grass beyond the runway with its brakes partly applied. German investigators have not yet said why.
Score 81, grade BAir China
Air China has not had a fatal accident since a Boeing 767 crashed near Busan in April 2002. Since then it has written off two widebodies in ground accidents at Beijing and drawn a CAAC penalty in 2018 after a co-pilot's vaping led to a rapid descent.
Score 80, grade BAkasa Air
Akasa Air has flown since 2022 without an accident, on an all-new fleet of 42 Boeing 737 MAX jets. The record is short, though, and in 2024 the DGCA fined it for training lapses and issued three show-cause notices in a month.
Score 80, grade BChina Airlines
Taiwan's flag carrier had one of the worst records in the world between 1994 and 2002, with four fatal crashes. It has had no fatal accident since, and its fleet is modernising. Recent incidents, including a 2025 fine over an engine-failure diversion and a wrong-runway landing, keep the score down.
Score 80, grade BXiamen Airlines
Xiamen Airlines has had no fatal accident caused by its own operation; its one fatal event was a hijacking in 1990. Its weak spot is the 2018 Manila runway excursion, where investigators found the captain continued an unstable approach and ignored the first officer's call to go around.
Score 80, grade BT'way Air (Trinity Airways)
T'way, renamed Trinity Airways in September 2026, has never had a fatal accident or lost an aircraft. Its weak point is maintenance, with repeated Korean fines in 2024 and 2025 for skipped inspections and altered records, and its fleet averaged 13.4 years in 2025.
Score 79, grade BVietjet
Vietjet, Vietnam's largest airline by fleet, has had no fatal accident and no aircraft written off since 2011. It flies young Airbus jets and is an IATA member. Its weak point is landings, with pilot errors that led Vietnam's regulator to put it under special supervision in 2018, and runway excursions since.
Score 79, grade BAir Astana
Air Astana has had no fatal accident since it began flying in 2002 and was released from the EU's restrictions in 2015. It loses points for the 2018 Embraer flight with reversed aileron cables, a string of runway and engine events, and Pratt & Whitney engine problems that have grounded up to 13 jets at a time.
Score 78, grade BPhilippine Airlines
Philippine Airlines has not had a fatal crash on a passenger flight in more than 25 years, and its regulator has been back in FAA Category 1 since 2014. The score is held back by overruns and excursions on wet provincial runways, mostly at regional arm PAL Express, and by a mixed fleet.
Score 77, grade BThai Airways
Thai Airways has had no fatal crash since 1998. Two widebodies were written off in runway excursions at Bangkok in 2013 and 2018, and Thailand only regained FAA Category 1 in April 2025. The airline left court rehabilitation in 2025 and is growing its fleet again.
Score 77, grade BCebu Pacific
Cebu Pacific, the largest airline in the Philippines, has had no fatal accident since a DC-9 hit a mountain in 1998, and most of its jets are new Airbus neos. Its weak point is a long run of runway excursions at provincial airports, several of them at Iloilo and Butuan.
Score 76, grade BBatik Air
Batik Air (Indonesia) and Batik Air Malaysia, the Lion Group's full-service airlines, have never had a fatal accident. The score is held back by crew lapses. In 2024 both pilots of an A320 fell asleep for 28 minutes, and a 737 flew below the safe altitude approaching Canberra.
Score 75, grade BAsiana Airlines
Asiana has had no fatal accident since 2013, but OZ214, a fatal cargo fire in 2011 and an A320 written off at Hiroshima in 2015 give it a weaker record than Korean Air. Asiana is merging into Korean Air, and the OZ code ends in December 2026.
Score 73, grade BChina Eastern Airlines
China Eastern lost a Boeing 737-800 and all 132 people on board on flight MU5735 in March 2022, and China's regulator has published no cause and no update since March 2024. Apart from that crash, the airline flies a fairly young fleet of 833 aircraft under an FAA Category 1 regulator.
Score 71, grade BMalaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines lost two Boeing 777s in 2014. MH370 disappeared with 239 people and has never been found; MH17 was shot down over Ukraine. Since then it has had no fatal accident, its regulator is back in FAA Category 1, and new A330neos and 737-8s are replacing older jets.
Score 71, grade BGaruda Indonesia
Garuda Indonesia has had no fatal accident since flight GA200 overran at Yogyakarta in 2007, killing 21. Its record since then is mostly runway and landing events. The bigger concern now is money, after aircraft were parked for lack of maintenance funds in 2025, and an ageing fleet with no new deliveries.
Score 70, grade BAirAsia
AirAsia is a brand flown by separate airlines in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, plus long-haul AirAsia X. The group's one fatal crash, Indonesia AirAsia QZ8501 in 2014, killed 162. The fleet is almost all Airbus A320-family, but oversight quality differs by country.
Score 68, grade CJeju Air
Jeju Air's 2024 Muan crash was the deadliest air accident in South Korea. Investigators say the crew shut down the less damaged engine, and the government admits the concrete berm at the runway end broke the rules. The airline has since cut flying and is renewing its fleet.
Score 68, grade CSpiceJet
SpiceJet has never had a fatal crash, but it has written off three aircraft since 2015, and India's regulator has put it under enhanced surveillance in 2022, 2023 and 2024 over maintenance and finances. In 2026 it flies a small, old active fleet while lessors pursue it in insolvency court.
Score 63, grade CAir India Express
Air India Express, Air India's low-cost arm, has had two fatal overrun crashes on tabletop runways, in 2010 and 2020, and India's investigators found systemic failures in its training and management. Since 2024 it has absorbed AirAsia India and is replacing old 737-800s with new 737-8s.
Score 58, grade CAir India
Air India lost a Boeing 787 with 241 of 242 people on board at Ahmedabad in June 2025, and the cause is still unknown. India's regulator has since found repeated breaches of crew rest and airworthiness rules, and subsidiary Air India Express had fatal crashes in 2010 and 2020.
Score 57, grade CLion Air
Lion Air, Indonesia's largest airline, has a much weaker record than Garuda Indonesia or AirAsia. Its 737 MAX crashed in October 2018, killing 189, after a known fault went unlogged, and it has written off six other jets since 2006. It is now IOSA-audited and has had no major accident since 2018.
Score 54, grade DSriwijaya Air
Sriwijaya Air lost flight SJ182 off Jakarta in January 2021, killing all 62 on board, after a recurring autothrottle fault was never properly fixed. It has written off four other Boeing 737s since 2008. It is not an IATA member, flies a small, old fleet and only came out of court-supervised debt restructuring in 2023.
Score 44, grade DPakistan International Airlines (PIA)
PIA has had three fatal crashes in 20 years, and investigators found maintenance and training failures behind two of them. Europe suspended it from 2020 to 2024 over Pakistan's pilot licensing, and the UK until 2025. New private owners took over in 2026; in April 2026 only 18 of its 30 ageing aircraft were operational.
Score 39, grade FYeti Airlines
Yeti lost an ATR 72 at Pokhara in January 2023, killing all 72, after a pilot moved both condition levers to feather; a Twin Otter crashed at Lukla in 2008. Every Nepali airline is on the EU Air Safety List, Yeti has no IOSA audit, and sister airline Tara Air has had three fatal crashes since 2010.
Score 37, grade F
Which airlines are included
The rule is the airline's home country. We include East Asia, South-East Asia, South Asia and Central Asia, plus Australia and New Zealand, which are part of the same network for most travellers in the region. We leave out the Gulf and the rest of the Middle East, including Iran and Israel, and also Turkey and Russia, which are in the European ranking. Hong Kong and Taiwan airlines are included.
How the order is built
Each airline has a page with five scored factors. The accident record carries 40%: fatal accidents and lost aircraft over the last 20 years, measured against how much the airline flies. Regulatory oversight counts for 20%, serious incidents and fleet for 15% each, and the difficulty of the network for 10%. The list is the scores sorted from the highest down, so it moves whenever we update a page.
What the top airlines have in common
Most of the airlines near the top are from Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. Their regulators score very high in international audits, and many of these airlines have flown for decades without a fatal accident. Low-cost airlines such as Scoot, Jetstar and Peach do about as well as their parent airlines, because they share the same regulators and fly young fleets.
The bottom of the list is where recent fatal crashes and weak oversight meet. Air India lost a Boeing 787 at Ahmedabad in June 2025, Jeju Air crashed at Muan in December 2024, and every Nepali airline, including Yeti, is on the EU Air Safety ListThe European Commission's list of airlines banned or restricted from flying in EU airspace because they do not meet international safety standards.More in the glossary. One accident does not make an airline unsafe, but it stays in the record for 20 years.
What the score does not tell you
The score compares records and safety systems; it does not predict one flight. Asia's domestic networks include short runways, heavy tropical storms and mountain airports, and the operating environment factor reflects that. For a single trip, look up your flight number to see the aircraft type and its own score. Factors and thresholds are on how we score airlines.
Questions
What is the safest airline in Asia?
The airline at the top of this list has the highest score we give any Asia-Pacific carrier right now. Several airlines from Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand sit close together near the top, so read them as a group rather than a strict order. The airline pages show which factor sets each one apart.
Why are Emirates and Qatar Airways not on this list?
We keep the Gulf and the rest of the Middle East out of this list, because most people searching for Asian airlines mean East, South-East and South Asia. Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad and other Middle Eastern airlines are in the [world ranking](/rankings/safest-airlines).
Are Chinese airlines safe?
China's big airlines have long records with few fatal accidents, and several of them score well with us. China Eastern's 737 crash in March 2022 is the main exception on our pages, and it weighs on that airline's accident record. Each Chinese airline has its own page with the details.
Are Indonesian airlines safe now?
Indonesia's airlines vary widely. Garuda Indonesia and AirAsia have stronger records than Lion Air and Sriwijaya Air, which both had fatal 737 crashes off Jakarta, in 2018 and 2021. Check the page of the airline you are booking rather than judging by country.
Are Asian budget airlines safe?
Many are. Scoot, Jetstar, Peach and HK Express have never had a fatal accident and fly young fleets under strong regulators. Others have weaker records, so the airline matters much more than the ticket price.