Europe’s aviation sector remains a “complex maze” of different Covid health and safety protocols.
The claim came from tech provider Safe Travel Technologies’ latest Safe Travel Barometer, launched in August to monitor global traveller health and safety measures.
Air France topped the ranks of the safest airlines in October as the leading airline in Europe with a ‘safe travel’ score of 4.1 out of 5.
In addition to implementing passenger safety protocols, the airline also has enhanced its disinfection methods to include fogging aircraft after every flight. The French flag carrier has also withdrawn rebooking fees for amendments and offers a full refund in case of cancelations.
However, only four out of 72 European airlines achieved a score of 4 or higher – the others being Lufthansa, Iberia and Virgin Atlantic. British Airways achieved a score of 3.9.
Virendra Jain, co-founder and chief executive of Safe Travel Barometer – part of travel industry advisory and consulting firm VIDEC – said: “The European aviation industry remains a complex maze with varied safety protocols and traveller convenience initiatives across airlines.
“Over the last few months, we have witnessed an evident improvement in the efforts taken by European airlines, especially flag carriers from major markets, as destinations opened over the summer and intra-European travel kicked off in the new normal.”
Gulf carriers topped the overall rankings, with Emirates best overall with a score of 4.4 followed by Etihad Airways at 4.3 and Qatar Airways at 4.2. Air China achieved the same 4.1 score as Air France,
Delta Air Lines was rated top in North America with a score of 4.1.
The score is based on an independent audit of 26 traveller health and safety measures, along with passenger convenience initiatives, service and the overall experience.
