After two significant passenger plane crashes at the end of last year, 2024 has officially been marked as the deadliest year in commercial aviation since 2018.
38 People killed in Kazakhstan crash
In the first incident, an Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft crashed in Kazakhstan on 25 December 2024, killing 38 of the 67 people on board the flight, according to Travel News.
Although not yet confirmed, early investigations indicate that a Russian anti-aircraft system may have downed the passenger jet. The Azerbaijan Airlines incident is also still being investigated.
Only two survivors in Jeju Air incident
In the second incident, only two of the 181 people on board South Korean airline Jeju Air survived when the passenger jet crash-landed at an airport in the country’s southwest on 29 December 2024.
The plane slid along the runway at Muan International Airport on its underside before catching fire. According to emergency services, the two survivors, a male and a female crew member, were saved from the tail section, which was the only part of the plane that stayed intact.
Markedly, it was the deadliest aviation disaster to hit South Korea since 1997.
The government of South Korea has announced that it will conduct nationwide inspections on all Boeing 737-800 aircraft following the deadly crash at Muan International Airport.
Safest airlines for 2025
AirlineRatings.com, an airline safety and product rating website, has announced its top 10 safest full-service airlines and the top 10 safest low-cost airlines for 2025 from the 385 airlines it monitors.
The top 10 full-service airlines for 2025 are:
1. Air New Zealand
2. Qantas
3. Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, and also Emirates
4. Virgin Australia
5. Etihad Airways
6. ANA
7. EVA Air
8. Korean Air
According to the website’s CEO Sharon Petersen, the three-way tie for third place was because they could not separate these airlines. From fleet age to pilot skill, safety practices, fleet size, and number of incidents, their scores were identical.
Some of the criteria used to grade the airlines are serious incidents over the past two years, fleet age and size, fatalities, and also profitability.
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