AirlineRatings.com ranks airlines each year, awarding up to seven stars for performance, safety and a variety of other metrics.
So, if an airline receives only one star, you know something is wrong. The following five airlines are the only ones in the world with a one-star rating so, suffice to say, they’re probably the worst.
1. Air Koryo
Would it surprise you to learn that North Korea’s national airline is one of the worst in the world? Probably not, but then it has registered not one single fatality and has an internationally recognised IOSA Certification.
When you consider that half the airline’s fleet is grounded for safety concerns and that its planes are made in Russia (which automatically costs you a star), the reason behind the low ranking becomes a little clearer.
2. Blue Wing
Blue Wing planes have been involved in three crashes in the last 10 years, two of which led to the deaths of all passengers on board. The airline, based in Suriname, is allowed to fly domestically as well as internationally to surrounding countries such as Brazil and Venezuela, but a ban from operating in the EU in 2010 has the airline on a European blacklist.
In somewhat of a defence, Blue Wing claims its crashes were due to poor airport infrastructure, not its planes …
3. Nepal Airlines
Nepal’s national airline rates even worse than the two above, failing to meet every AirlineRatings’ criterion apart from being FAA endorsed. The airline was banned from flying to the EU in 2013 due to its large number of crashes, one of which killed 25 in 2000 after a plane clipped trees and caught fire, another crashing into a hill in 2014, killing all passengers on board.
4. Trigana Air
Operating out of Indonesia, Trigana Airlines also fails all criteria except for FAA endorsement. For 10 years, an EU ban has been applied on all Indonesian airlines, although a few have since been exempted. Not Trigana Air, though, which has experienced 14 major incidents since 2002.
5. Yeti Airlines/Tara Air
It would seem that flying a Nepalese airline is a no-go, with Yeti Airlines on the EU blacklist due to nine fatal accidents and incidents in the last eight years. In fact, all airlines deemed okay to fly by Nepalese authorities are banned in the EU, because they are too unreliable.
Yeti Air, which is the parent company of Tara Air, forms the largest domestic fleet in Nepal, so if you travel there, chances are you may have to fly with them. Our advice? Hire a car and drive.
If you do have an opportunity to book a cheap fare with an unknown or obscure airline, it may be best to head to www.airlineratings.com and check out its safety rating first.
Have you ever flown with any of these airlines? Have you ever flown with an unknown or obscure airline?
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