The 2021 JACDEC ranking has named KLM the safest airline in Europe, with the Dutch-owned airline coming in second place in the international rankings.
Last year’s ranking saw KLM achieve a respectable sixth place, but this year’s edition saw the airline perform even better, climbing into second place and overtaking Air Europa and Finnair to be named the safest European airline.
This marks the fourth year in a row that KLM has nabbed a spot on the list of the world’s safest airlines, which is compiled annually by JACDEC - the Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre. The ranking is based on each airline’s accident history over the past 30 years, but also evaluates the country-specific environment in which the airline operates and its specific risk factors.
While the 2020 ranking saw all airlines in the top 20 achieve a score of at least 90 percent, 2021 saw a number of companies slip slightly - this year, only the top seven airlines scored above 90 percent. According to JACDEC's 2021 ranking, the world's 15 safest airlines are:
| Ranking | Airline | Country | Risk Index (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emirates | UAE | 95,05 |
| 2 | KLM | The Netherlands | 93,31 |
| 3 | Jetblue Airways | USA | 91,61 |
| 4 | Delta Air Lines | USA | 91,55 |
| 5 | Easyjet | UK | 91,28 |
| 6 | Air Canada | Canada | 90,9 |
| 7 | Southwest Airlines | USA | 90,11 |
| 8 | Spirit Airlines | USA | 89,73 |
| 9 | Ryanair | Ireland | 89,41 |
| 10 | Qatar Airways | Qatar | 89,24 |
| 11 | United Airlines | USA | 88,52 |
| 12 | Sichuan Airlines | China | 88,13 |
| 13 | Shenzhen Airlines | China | 88,09 |
| 14 | British Airways | UK | 87,99 |
| 15 | IndiGo | India | 87,97 |
The full report will be published by JACDEC at the end of January. For more information about the ranking, visit their website.