According to Experts.news, Turkish Airlines took first place among European airlines in the regional ranking of the 2026 World Airline Awards by the international organization Skytrax, published on September 18.
Air France took second place among European carriers, and Lufthansa took third. They were followed by Iberia, Virgin Atlantic, Swiss International Air Lines, British Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Austrian Airlines, and Finnair.
Thus, the ranking of the top ten European airlines is as follows: Turkish Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa, Iberia, Virgin Atlantic, Swiss, British Airways, KLM, Austrian Airlines, and Finnair.
Skytrax also published separate rankings by European region.
In Western Europe, Air France took first place, Lufthansa second, and Virgin Atlantic third. In Northern Europe, Finnair took the lead, followed by SAS Scandinavian and Icelandair.
In Southern Europe, Turkish Airlines also took first place, Iberia second, and Vueling Airlines third.
In Central Europe, LOT Polish Airlines topped the rankings. Wizz Air took second place, and Croatia Airlines came in third. These carriers are of particular practical importance to Ukrainian passengers, as a significant portion of international flights now operate through airports in neighboring European countries following the closure of Ukraine’s civil airspace.
In Eastern Europe, Latvia’s airBaltic topped the 2026 ranking. Air Serbia came in second, and Georgian Airways took third. Bulgaria Air and Romania’s TAROM also made it into the top five.
The World Airline Awards are based on an international passenger survey. The 2025/2026 survey was conducted from September 2025 through August 2026 and covered more than 300 airlines. Respondents represented over 100 nationalities.
