Aegean Airlines Tops Europe's Safest Airlines List; Ryanair Also Ranks High
Translated & summarized from Cursorinfo by baba
Aegean Airlines has been named Europe's safest airline for the second year in a row by AirAdvisor, which analyzed 20 carriers for 2026. Budget airline Ryanair ranked second, followed by Austrian Airlines, Norwegian, and SunExpress. The study considered accident history, aircraft condition, and pilot training, finding a small difference in average scores between traditional and low-cost carriers. AirAdvisor stressed its ranking is independent and not an official regulatory classification.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Aegean Airlines ranked Europe's safest airline for 2026 by AirAdvisor, scoring 89 points.
- Ryanair placed second with 86 points, despite two minor incidents in 2023.
- Austrian Airlines, Norwegian, and SunExpress completed the top five safest airlines.
- The study evaluated 20 European airlines on six safety and operational criteria.
- Three budget carriers, Ryanair, Norwegian, and SunExpress, made the top five list.
- AirAdvisor's ranking is an independent study, not an official aviation regulator classification.
A new safety ranking of European airlines for 2026 has placed Greek carrier Aegean Airlines in first place for the second consecutive year, according to a study by AirAdvisor. The company evaluated 20 airlines, including traditional carriers and low-cost operators, on six criteria: accident history, operational safety, aircraft condition, inspection results, pilot training, and financial stability. Aegean Airlines scored 89 points, achieving maximum marks for safety history and financial stability, with no qualifying accidents between 2016 and 2025.
Irish budget airline Ryanair secured second place with 86 points. Despite its low ticket prices, Ryanair received high marks for flight safety organization, modern control systems, and a relatively young fleet. However, it lost points due to two incidents in 2023 involving landing gear issues and a collision with a vehicle, though neither resulted in injuries. Ryanair achieved 38 out of 40 points for safety history.
Austrian Airlines, part of the Lufthansa Group, ranked third with 85.5 points and has recently resumed flights to Israel. Norwegian, a Norwegian low-cost carrier, came in fourth with 85 points, and Turkish airline SunExpress rounded out the top five with 84.5 points. The inclusion of Ryanair, Norwegian, and SunExpress in the top five highlights that budget airlines can be perceived as highly reliable.
The study, which used Eurocontrol data from 2025 for operational scale, found that traditional airlines averaged 82.8 points, while low-cost carriers averaged 79.2 points, a difference of 3.6 points. AirAdvisor's founder and CEO, Anton Radchenko, emphasized that while modern aircraft have technological advantages, maintenance quality is paramount, and older aircraft can remain safe with proper upkeep.
Aegean Airlines also led AirAdvisor's previous ranking, which covered 2005-2024 and included 15 airlines. The current study expanded to 20 carriers. AirAdvisor noted that its ranking is an independent comparative study, not an official classification by European aviation regulators, and final scores reflect a combination of criteria rather than precise risk levels for individual flights.