Safety always comes first, especially when it comes to traveling. Here, we reveal the most dangerous airlines you should avoid at all costs, according to aviation analysis website AirlineRatings.com.
The bad news is, the most dangerous airlines do not make headlines, meaning that you may board one of their planes without even realizing that you’re risking your life.
It’s worth mentioning that a seven-star rating is the highest score an airline can get. The ratings are based on serious incidents and fatal crashes records, government safety audits, the plane’s age, and profitability.
airlines in the world
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#10 – Susi Air
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The safety of these airlines is affected by several factors, such as communication issues with air traffic control, lack of cooperation from local tribes, weather, and extreme terrain. Susi Air operates throughout Indonesia’s islands since 2004.
Surprisingly, most of their pilots are youngsters from Western countries who want to clock up their flying hours. This airline had actually been prohibited from flying into the European Union, but that’s not the only ban Susi Air got.
Due to the extreme casualties and crashes, US Embassy personnel are restricted from traveling on this carrier. Moreover, the nature of the plane doesn’t allow any other flight staff, only pilots. Thus, Susi air is not to be expected to move beyond the 2-star safety rating at AirlineRatings.com.
#9 – Merpati Airlines
Merpati Airlines is currently a major domestic airline operating throughout more than 25 destinations in Indonesia, Malaysia, and East Timor. Historically, Merpati has gone through a huge financial chaos that it has stopped flying in 2015.
The airline’s safety record for the previous 10 years registered more than 50 casualties and more than 6 severe incidents, therefore, for obvious safety concerns, Merpati was restricted from traveling European skies.
Furthermore, the airline has frozen operations, angry employees, and unpaid fuel bills, but still, all of these weaknesses didn’t stop Merpati airlines from showing interest in getting their IATA Operational Safety Audit.
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#8 – Daallo Airlines
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This is another airline with a 2-star safety rating and one of the worst airlines when it comes to service, cleanliness, and of course, safety. Daallo is a Somali airline with its initial operating hub at Djibouti and headquarters in Dubai.
Among its destinations, we find the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa. Other important information about Daallo, however, is very difficult to find, which makes it much riskier.
Daallo Airlines stopped all operations in 2010 but, for unknown reasons, resumed later in the same year. In fact, the airline hasn’t experienced any casualties and only one or two serious accidents have been recorded.
But it witnessed an immense danger when a man boarded with enough explosives to explode the entire plane into shattered burning pieces. Without any recognized safety certificate, Daallo was banned from the EU and you should better avoid it as well.
#7 – Ariana Afghan Airlines
Afghanistan’s biggest airline also got a 2-star safety rating at airlineratings.com. Due to serious safety troubles, Ariana Afghan Airlines has actually been banned from flying into the EU since 2006.
However, the sanctions were lifted later on, allowing the airline to fly internationally again while remaining on the EU’s blacklist. Ariana Afghan Airlines’ safety record is absolutely not pretty to look at.
In 2014 alone, a total of 154 casualties were recorded including the destruction of 19 planes. Even though the majority of these accidents took place during the 90’s, the huge number is enough to justify today’s very low safety rating.
Dangerously, the airline is now operating to 7 international sites and 3 domestic destinations with no visible efforts to obtain any additional safety accreditation.
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#6 – Bluewing Airlines
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This smaller, regional airline typically transports flyers to the Caribbean, Venezuela, Brazil, Guyana, and Suriname. Bluewing Airlines has been getting on and off the European Union’s blacklist and now it’s banned from traveling into the EU.
Bluewing’s safety record is loaded with a wide variety of issues, ranging from crashes to plane safety problems and recording many deaths among both passengers and staff. A few of their carriers burned down due to violations of specific safety regulations, such as the lack of the GPWS on board.
Looking at the frequent poor landing conditions, EU ban, and poor safety record, the airline seems too far away from getting more than 2 two stars any time soon.
#5 – SCAT Airlines
Special Cargo Air Transport Airlines is based in Kazakhstan. It doesn’t only have a bad name but also a very bad record. Surprisingly, this has nothing to do with the number of crashes it has experienced (which is just a one and only crash.)
Actually, the European Commission’s determination to ban the airline is due to the overall terrible lack of confidence in the regulatory processes. If you are, for whatever reason, traveling anytime soon to Kazakhstan, make sure to avoid SCAT at all costs. Air Astana, for instance, is a safer airline.
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#4 – Tara Air
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Tara Air operates in Nepal rather than Afghanistan, also, only one flight has met a tragic ending, resulting in passenger deaths. Yet, it maintains a very low profile internationally as well as it raises several questions about its safety levels, especially that it has only been around for less than 10 years.
Most travelers can easily avoid flying on Tara Air since it mainly operates to Nepal’s rural sites, but if you’re willing to experience the natural magic of the Himalaya and don’t want to waste your precious time in a long overland trip from Kathmandu, you might easily end up flying Tara Air.
The danger levels increase much further in case the aircraft is supposed to land the super risky Himalayan airport, the inevitable stop to Everest Base Camp.
#3 – Kam Air
You’ve probably never heard about this Afghanistan-based airline and you’re probably never going to fly it as well. It’s not the type of airlines any typical backpacker would board nowadays, well, except if the backpack belongs to the American military.
Although Kam Air has been operating for only 10 years, it has managed to record deadly accidents that resulted in over one hundred deaths among passengers. Therefore it is one of the top riskiest airlines in the world.
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#2 – Nepal Airlines
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No matter how hard we tried, we failed at not feeling pity for the pilots who land carriers in Nepal. This is the second airlines with only one miserable star in safety rating. Actually, all Nepalese Airlines are banned from flying to anywhere in the EU.
Despite a somewhat modest schedule, Nepal Airlines has experienced about a dozen deadly incidents in the previous 30 years, making it one of the world’s most dangerous airlines.
The latest accident recorded occurred in 2014 when an aircraft crashed, resulting in 18 deaths. Furthermore, the airline has never been part of the internationally recognized safety audits.
#1 – Lion Air
The largest airline in Indonesia has the worst safety record, in addition to a number of serious issues it has experienced since it started operating in 2000. Lion Air operates throughout more than eighty destinations and has also added two airlines in Thailand and Malaysia.
As for its safety record, it’s actually horrific, with more than 8 severe incidents and several fatalities in the past 10 years. This might surprise you but accidents actually range from water crashes to overshot runway landings.
What’s more surprising, in 2012, pilots and crew of Lion Air were arrested due to possession of crystal meth (methamphetamine.) Eventually, they are restricted from flying into the EU and had 53 of their routes frozen by the ministry of transportation.
It’s no surprise that Lion Air is lucky to have one star from airlinerating.com and the drastically low rating is expected to remain as such.
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