The Greek national carrier Aegean Airlines secured the top position in AirAdvisor’s 2026 European Airline Safety Index with an overall score of 89 out of 100. The index evaluated 10 largest low-cost and 10 largest traditional carriers that met the criteria, based on traffic statistics from EUROCONTROL across a ten-year study period spanning 2016 through 2025.
Aegean Airlines Leads Safety Performance Rankings
- Top Performer: Aegean Airlines claimed first place with an 89/100 score, driven by a faultless safety record in the evaluated period that earned it a maximum 40/40 score in safety history.
- Budget Rivalry: Budget carrier Ryanair secured second place overall with 86 points, closely followed by traditional carrier Austrian Airlines at 85.5 points.
- Evaluation Metrics: The methodology weighted six distinct criteria, allocating 40% to safety history, 20% to certifications and audits, 15% to operational safety systems, 10% to fleet age and technical profile, 10% to pilot training, and 5% to financial stability.
Methodology and Scoring Breakdown of the 2026 Safety Index
The AirAdvisor index utilized public regulatory filings, corporate disclosures, and international aviation safety reports to grade carriers on a 100-point scale. Beyond the top-ranked Aegean Airlines, the evaluation placed significant emphasis on operational parameters rather than ticket pricing alone. Traditional carriers averaged 82.8 points across the study, while low-cost operators recorded a narrow average of 79.2 points, demonstrating a minimal 3.6-point variance between the two sectors.
Anton Radchenko, CEO of AirAdvisor, noted that consumer assumptions regarding low-cost carriers carrying higher risk are unsupported by empirical data. “Many travelers assume that the cheaper ticket means a higher safety risk, but the data does not support this,” Radchenko stated to Euronews Travel, highlighting that incident rates and safety management systems scored comparably across both airline categories.
| Airline | Carrier Type | Overall Score (out of 100) | Safety History (40% weight) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aegean Airlines | Traditional | 89.0 | 40 |
| Ryanair | Low-Cost | 86.0 | |
| Austrian Airlines | Traditional | 85.5 | |
| Norwegian | Low-Cost | 85.0 | |
| SunExpress | Low-Cost | 84.5 |
Low-Cost Carriers Maintain Younger Aircraft Fleets
The analysis revealed nuanced differences in fleet characteristics between business models. Low-cost carriers achieved a slightly higher average of 7.8 out of 10 points in the fleet age and technical profile category, compared to 7.1 out of 10 for traditional legacy carriers. Operators such as Wizz Air and Pegasus captured maximum scores of 10 out of 10 for their younger aircraft inventories.
Despite the numerical advantage for newer fleets, analysts cautioned against treating age as the sole arbiter of aviation safety. Properly maintained older aircraft continue to operate reliably over decades of service.
Complete 2026 Safety Index Standings
The exhaustive index encompasses twenty major European operators, balancing legacy infrastructure against low-cost operational models:
- Aegean Airlines – 89/100
- Ryanair – 86/100
- Austrian Airlines – 85.5/100
- Norwegian – 85/100
- SunExpress – 84.5/100
- Air France – 83.5/100
- British Airways – 83.5/100
- Iberia – 83.5/100
- Turkish Airlines – 83/100
- Lufthansa – 83/100
- KLM – 82.5/100
- easyJet – 82/100
- Eurowings – 81.5/100
- SAS – 81.5/100
- Wizz Air – 79.5/100
- Transavia – 79/100
- Vueling – 77/100
- Jet2 – 73/100
- SWISS – 72.5/100
- Pegasus Airlines – 64.5/100
