Australia’s international carrier QANTAS has again been named the world’s safest airline, according to industry analysis released Monday.
AirlineRatings.com, the airline safety monitoring company, said the Australian flag-carrier consistently maintained safety standards in the categories monitored for 385 airlines since 2013.
QANTAS is the world’s oldest continuously operating airline, having been founded in 1920 as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services.
It has been a “clear leader” over the past 100 years in safety protocols, and a pioneer in operations and safety standards, being the “first or second” airline to introduce 16 major safety innovations over the past 60 years, according to the survey criteria.
It was top ranked from 2014 to 2017, and then again in 2019 through 2020, although all the major carriers stand closely together on matters of safety.
“In fact, there is very little between the Top 20, they are all standouts,” Geoffrey Thomas, editor in chief of the online ranking company said.
QANTAS made world headlines last November when it announced it was drawing up plans to make a coronavirus vaccination mandatory for all international passengers, as Breitbart News reported.
“We are looking at changing our terms and conditions to say for international travellers, that we will ask people to have a vaccination before they can get on the aircraft,” CEO Alan Joyce said in an interview with local outlet Channel 9’s A Current Affair.
#BREAKING: QANTAS CEO confirms that proof that you've been vaccinated for COVID-19 will be compulsory for international air travel onboard his aircraft. #9ACA pic.twitter.com/dhk3Hsnxn9
— A Current Affair (@ACurrentAffair9) November 23, 2020
Other carriers have since followed that lead, with the British government in November saying it was set to introduce vaccine stamps in passports for those who have been inoculated against coronavirus to boost the travel industry.
Meanwhile, the top airlines have not experienced fatalities within the past 10 years and have kept up to date on replacing avionics or older aircraft that may have contributed to the deaths of crew or passengers, the company’s rating tool system says.
“Accidents and incidents make up five of our seven star rating with audits accounting for one and COVID-19 compliance the final star for a maximum seven-star ranking,” Thomas told CNN.
The year 2020 was an economic anomaly for the international airline industry because of the global pandemic.
Six billion fewer passengers flew internationally because of coronavirus, representing a loss of 64.2 percent, according to a Dec. 8 analysis from the Canadian Airports Council International.
On Sunday, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration said more than 1.3 million travelers passed through its checkpoints Sunday.
The number was 55 percent below the number of passengers one year ago, but it was its highest volume since March 15, when COVID-19 travel lockdowns began.
UPI contributed to this story
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