KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 7): Airlines under the AirAsia Aviation Ltd group have been named among the top 20 safest low-cost airlines for 2022.

Aviation safety, product, and Covid-19 rating agency AirlineRatings.com on Monday (Feb 7) listed (in alphabetical order); Air Arabia, Air Asia Group (AirAsia, AirAsia X, AirAsia Thailand, AirAsia Philippines and AirAsia India), Allegiant Air, Air Baltic, easyjet, FlyDubai, Frontier, Jetstar Group, Jetblue, Indigo, Ryanair, Scoot, Southwest, Spicejet, Spirit, Vueling, Vietjet, Volaris, Westjet, and Wizz as the safest low-cost airlines for 2022.

Factors used to decide the top 20 safest low-cost airlines include — incident records over the past two years; crash records over the past five years; results of audits conducted by the governing body of aviation, the International Civil Aviation Organisation; EU banned lists and fleet age.

AirlineRatings.com was launched in June 2013 and rates the safety, in-flight product, and Covid-19 compliance of 385 airlines using its seven-star system.

According to AirlineRatings.com, it “has been used by millions of passengers from 195 countries and has become the industry standard for safety, product, and Covid-19 rating”.

In a separate statement on Monday (Feb 7), AirAsia Aviation CEO Bo Lingam said safety is the No 1 determining factor for air travellers and this is more important than ever now that “we have started living with the virus”.

“Safety is paramount and is always our No 1 priority.

“AirAsia has made it mandatory for only fully vaccinated guests to be allowed on board our flights, operated by fully vaccinated flight crew.

“This also applies to ground staff at the terminal including those handling baggage and guest services. On top of that, AirAsia pilots and crew are sent for retraining and refresher courses so that they are always on top of the game,” he said.

AirlineRatings.com editor-in-chief and founder Geoffrey Thomas said the airlines within the AirAsia Group have continued to pass the major International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit which covers more than 1,060 parameters.

“We look forward to seeing AirAsia Group continue to soar to greater heights as one of the best low-cost carriers in the world,” he said.