Source::CNN
The two years have been hectic for the aviation industry to say the least. The two years of COVID-19 has been gut-punching for airlines as air travel nose-dived into record low numbers throughout 2021. In addition, the new Omicron variants popping up makes the aviation industry's future uncertain for the foreseeable future.
With all the chaos and fuss about COVID-19, disease protocols have been added to the already extensive list of things for airlines to keep in mind for passenger safety. And with the year 2022 ahead of us, AirlineRating.com has pronounced Air New Zealand as the 'world's safest airline for 2022'.
AirlineRatings have said that the airline was awarded "due to its excellent incident record, number of cockpit innovations, pilot training and very low fleet age," in addition to COVID-19 protocols and operational innovation in such trying times. Etihad Airways came in second, while Qatar Airways took third place, with Singapore Airlines and TAP Portugal taking fourth and fifth spot respectively.
Another striking news was the absence of Qantas, which held the title of the world's safest airline from 2014 to 2017 and from 2019 to 2021 now absent from the top five altogether. AirlineRatings have placed the four-year consecutive winner, Qantas in the seventh-place citing a "slight increase in incidents coupled with the fleet age."
"Air New Zealand has excelled across the broad safety spectrum never losing sight of the smallest detail while caring for its flight crews who have worked under significant stress," according to Geoffrey Thomas, editor-in-chief of the website. "Air New Zealand is a leader in this field with comprehensive retraining."
