Would you like to travel in a plane where the pilot is high? Would you like to fly with an airline that can easily be hijacked or bombed? Would you like to travel with an airline with the highest crash and fatality rates?
The answer is “No.”
In this article, You will learn the most dangerous airlines with higher chances of plane crashes and other facts about the worst airlines to avoid traveling with them.
Aviation is the safest of all modes of transportation, but there are a handful of airlines labeled as the most dangerous or deadliest that you should never fly with.
Car travel has the highest fatality rate but still, most people are searching for how often a plane can crash.
It’s mandatory to do due diligence before traveling with an airline because traveling with an unsafe airline can be a misfortune.
A passenger always has a few questions in mind while traveling by air. Still, unfortunately, the majority is more concerned about the chances of a plane crash rather than knowing the history of airlines regarding crashes to choose the right airline for safe travels.
The debate starts with the airline and arrangements to make the transport safe for passengers.
Today, I will reveal the names of the most dangerous airlines having pathetic service, aging fleets, little to no security checks, pilots smoking weed, and, more importantly, a high rate of plane crashes and deaths caused by those crashes.
I will also list the safest airlines with-qualified and well-groomed pilots, little to no crashes and fatality history, highly secured, and safest to travel.
Without further ado, let’s get started…
Most Dangerous Airlines
An airline with one or two critical accidents doesn’t mean that the Airline is not good; several factors are involved, and then a rating is assigned based on those elements. Brit. ish Air. Ays are one of the best and safest airlines but are also known for a mishap in which the plane was engulfed in flames. Similarly, there are a handful of examples like this.
On the other hand, there are the safest airlines you can trust with closed eyes, like Qantas Airlines, Finnair Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and a few more.
Airlines With the Most Crashes
The Airlines with the most crashes are not the worst; these are one of the best airlines; the higher number of crashes doesn’t make them unsafe. The crashes are the most popular and busiest airlines, and when serving on that large scale, that handful of crashes don’t even count; still, fatalities cannot be easily ignored.
So, the airlines with the most crashes are:
- American Airlines: 11 accidents
- Air France: 11 accidents
- China Airlines: 9 accidents
- Korean Air: 9 accidents
- Pakistan International Airlines: 8 accidents
- United Airlines: 7 accidents
Safest Airlines
The safest airlines are not those having a low number of accidents and deaths but have all modern safety parameters, FAA approved, have a modern and safe control system, and follow industry-leading safety initiatives. The major airlines considered safe are approved by International Civil Aviation Organization ( ICAO ) and the International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit certifications ( IOSA ). Airlines must comply with these audits from the aviation governing industry bodies to stay on top of the game.
According to AirlineRatings.com, the safest airlines are:
- Qantas Air
- Etihad Airways
- Qatar Airways
- Air New Zealand
- Singapore Airlines
- TAP Air Portugal
Airlines are competing against each other to take a sizeable chunk of the growing air transportation market, but the path is not easy.
Many factors make an airline the best, like capable pilots, trained crew members, and rules for unruly and intoxicated passengers boarding the plane. Similarly, the airlines have to deal with hijackings, bomb threats, over short runways, and, most importantly, preventing tragic crashes.
With the continual engineering advancement, many airlines struggle to maintain their reputation.
From the largest commercial aircraft to military planes, helicopters, cargo planes, and jets, the flights crisscrossing the skies are monitored closely and guided with powerful communication systems to prevent crashes.
The safest airlines have not simply become the lucky ones; these airlines have spent a large chunk of their money on training their pilots. The pilots are civilian-trained people who qualify for structured programs to become worthy pilots. First, these airlines have deployed the best-trained staff through the rigorous application.
The cost to train a pilot is $100,000, and each pilot must undergo a multi-level screening process. Compared with other unavoidable errors like bad weather, bird strikes, and mechanical issues, the biggest and most important error that can occur is human error which can be the leading cause of devastation.
Therefore, the talented recruits manage to fly the plane, and other underqualified pilots never get a chance to fly the plane.
These airlines promise you no fatal crash or tragic loss, ensuring all the safety records, you are safely transported from one place to another.
List of Most Dangerous Airlines
1۔) Lion Air:
Lion Air is an airline in Indonesia and the worst airline with poor safety records and the lowest safety ratings. The airline has mountainous airfields, which means the chances of crashes are higher. It’s been reported that pilots work under the influence of alcohol or hallucinogenic drugs.
The airline serves over 80 destinations, but due to its atrocious safety record, Lion Air has been involved in eight serious incidents with many fatalities. On top of that, Lion Air is prohibited from flying airspace in the EU and the US.
Finally, Lion Air suffers from overshot runway landings, and pilots are usually found possessing methamphetamine ( aka crystal meth ). Due to these reasons, the transportation ministry has frozen fifty-three routes.
2.) Aeroflot:
The next worst airline bogged down by fatalities is Aeroflot, which belongs to the Soviet Union. There are many reports that there are no safety standards for this airline, and pilots opening drink alcohol in the cockpit are usually intoxicated and drunk while flying.
3.) Turkish Airways:
Turkish Airways isn’t any common airline, but there are a handful of accidents back to back, making it one of the most low-performing airlines of all time. Turkish Airways are known for following horrific safety records and is involved in 10+ crashes and a handful of in-flight accidents. In this era, the airline is struggling to keep up with its growth. The biggest reason behind this airline's downfall is the number of departures and arrivals in a day, around one thousand a day, and it’s competing against award-winning airports like Atlanta.
4.) Yeti Airlines:
Yet Airlines are known for outdated airplanes on their feet for navigating the toughest terrains of the Himalayas. This Nepali Airline has a bad history of crashes which mostly occur on mountaintop trips. This is a parent company to Tara Air and has got only a one-star rating from Airlineratings.com. The fact is that this airline is also FAA-approved. Still, being the largest domestic operator in Nepal, the airline is responsible for passenger deaths and has destroyed several aircraft. The Yet airline is known for good food delivery during flights.
5.) Sriwijaya Air:
The Sriwijaya Air by Indonesia has received two-star ratings. This airline has the largest fleet of old aging aircraft and no signs of upgradation. It is the third-large airline in Indonesia, but this privately owned media medium-service line still follows not many international safety standards; that is why it’s also blocked from entering the European Union and the United States of America airspaces.
6.) Air Bagan:
Air Bagan is the next domestic operator in Myanmar that has a bad reputation for safety concerns but is known for delivering good in-flight products. Like others, Air Bagan is prohibited from entering EU airspace.
7.) Tara Air:
This Nepali airline owns Yeti Airlines and is a hub at Tribhuvan International Airport. This airline faces challenges against mountainous airports and landing strips. Due to the limited length of the runway, the aircraft is forced to make short take-off and landing. The safety standard of Tara Air is not up to the mark, and it also hasn’t got any internationally recognizable safety certificate that makes it the riskiest airline.
8.) Susi Air:
Susi Air is also established in Indonesia and has received a two-star rating. This airline has faced rough decades of crashes and casualties. Besides the extreme terrain, smaller planes, poor weather conditions, and communication difficulties, the real problem is the open cockpit, which results in rowdy passenger behavior and a serious threat to the safety of flights. The situations are so worse that the US Embassy personnel no longer use it.
Merpati Airlines:
Merpati Airlines also belongs to Indonesia and is one of the biggest domestic airlines in Indonesia. That was established in 1962 and served more than 25 destinations in Indonesia. But, with time, this airline has become a financial mess and resulted in 50 casualties in 6 accidents. Due to many reasons, Merpati Airlines is prohibited from entering EU airspace. The reasons which are dragging the reputation of this airline are unpaid fuel bills, unhappy employees, frozen operations, and the lack of ground proximity warning systems ( GPWS ).
8.) Nepali Airline:
The Nepali Airline, also known as Royal Nepal Airline, is the first airline in Nepal and was established in 1958. Since then, this airline has been the cause of 18 deaths, and a few airlines have gone missing, sometimes ending up in a crash; and to this, this airline is rated one-star.
9.) SCAT Airlines:
SCAT Airlines is a low-cost carrier that was established in 1997. With time, it has become the most dangerous airline, but it is also FAAFAA-approved. His airline has perished 21 souls, so it’s not accident-free. Still, they are trying their best to improve, and despite that, they are banned from flying above the EU.
10.) Kam Air:
Kam Air is also a one-star rated airline in Afghanistan that was launched in 2003 but has maintained a very bad reputation since then, causing 96 deaths of passengers and eight crew members. This airline has been involved in bomb threats and also has faced a tail strike incident.
11.) Blue Wing:
Blue Wing Airlines is also banned for flaunting general safety procedures; this airline is not only involved in transporting people but also cargo. The bad thing is that this airline has revoked the licenses several times due to poor safety conditions. Those who travel to the Caribbean and South America use this airline carefully.
12.) China Airlines:
China Airlines is also on the list of most dangerous airlines because it has been named in some high-profile accidents, and many reports are there of dead customers in the planes. The airline operates from Taiwan, but Czech officials have filed a complaint against the company for being unresponsive. But still, it’s the deadliest to the Bureau of Aircraft Archives because it has been involved in fatal crashes and has the highest aircraft fatality ratio. You can say that it causes 5.1 deaths per aircraft built, and it’s not the airline you should travel with.
13.) Nok Air:
Nok Air is a Thailand-based airline that is an international airline. Still, being a hotspot for travel, Thailand is paying no attention to its airline and has received safety-related red flags many times. It has been reported as an airline with unqualified pilots.
14.) PNG Air:
PNG Air is the airline in Papua New Guinea that is facing the usual risk because it’s the primary carrier of the island, but the flights have been involved in many accidents. Their old fleet is facing a higher level of danger and has a terrible history of repeated accidents. They have attempted to rebrand themselves several times, but all in vain.
15.) Ariana Afghan Airlines:
Afghan Airline Ariana is a Kabul-based airline known for no safety regulations. The airline has been used for transporting stuff for militants. The airline has been allegedly involved in ferrying militants and has been the private carrier of Osama Bin Laden. Due to that, the Airline has been bombed several times by the US, but the national airline is still struggling to survive even though most of its fleet has been scrapped. Now that the UN has lifted sanctions, India is sending aid and trained staff along with a modern fleet to uplift this airline.
16.) Malaysia Airlines:
Malaysia Airlines has also been named in a series of bad events in aviation history. The flight M370 disappeared with 200 people and ended up in a crash. The same happened with another flight, MH17, which disappeared from the radar and killed 295 people. The reason was that the plane flew over the restricted zone of Ukraine, and Russian troops shot it down.
17.) Daallo Airlines:
This small carrier in Dubai transports passengers but is also known for smuggling bombs and hijacking attempts. Framing with the poor history of security and many unsuccessful hijacking attempts, the airline is managing for its survival. The airline is also answering independent inquiries and audits but is now banned from tfromeenteringEU airspace.
18.) North Korea Airline:
This is the last dangerous airline of the Hermit Kingdom and the world’s worst airline because its fleet is a set of old Soviet-era technology. Therefore, it’s not allowed to enter EU airspace.
