Information on Safety Ratings for Airlines

Information on Safety Ratings for Airlines:

The Federal Aviation Administration's statement about safety ratings of airlines:

A report prepared for the FAA by GRA, Inc. entitled A Report on Issues Related to Public Interest in Aviation Safety Data, found that "... there currently is no evidence in accident data that would support the ranking of individual airlines based on their safety records….While there may be apparent differences in carrier safety records at any particular time, due largely to the infrequent but catastrophic nature of an air accident, there is no evidence that such distinctions persist nor that they are predictive of future safety performance. Rankings of airlines based on past accident records therefore provide no information to consumers seeking to make safety-enhancing comparisons for current or future travel choices."

The FAA's Frequently Asked Questions list has this to say about safety ratings of foreign airlines:

"The FAA does not assess or rate the safety of individual foreign air carriers. However, FAA does assess whether a country meets international standards for aviation safety oversight if the country has at least one airline that serves or has applied to serve the United States. Safety oversight refers to how a country oversees and regulates the safety of its airlines.

"The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) separately assesses some foreign air carriers for suitability as official providers of air services. For information regarding the DOD policy on specific carriers, contact them at 618-229-4801."

Please contact the FAA directly if you have any further questions.
"     Online Contact Form
"     Toll-free (U.S.): 1-800-322-7873
"     Outside of the U.S.: +1 (202) 267-3484

The hotline operates from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.

You may want to contact the FAA office serving your area:

"     To find Field and Regional Offices in the U.S. please click here.
"     To find international Field Offices, please click here.