Which are the world's safest airlines?

As the January blues spread, thoughts will be turning to booking that getaway overseas - but which airline is the safest to travel with?

After 2015's tragic incidents involving Germanwings and Metrojet, it's understandable that some tourists will be a bit nervous about flying, but according to figures from the Aviation Safety Network, last year was actually the safest year in history in terms of fatal accidents.

Still concerned about booking with the right airline? Data from AirlineRatings.com goes into more detail about the safest aviation companies, comparing 407 different airlines every year.

Qantas has been ranked the safest airline for the third year running, with a fatality-free record in the jet era, something that the site hails as "extraordinary".

Qantas, in fact, is the world's oldest continuously operating airline, which makes its fatality-free history even more impressive, while the firm has also been involved in a number of firsts in operations and safety procedures and features, such as the Flight Data Recorder (the black box) and using Global Navigation Satellite System and RNP to both land automatically and approach landings around mountains in clouds with precision. Qantas also leads the industry when it come to monitoring its engines in real-time, which means that problems can be detected before they become major risks.

The rest of the top 20 include Air New Zealand, Alaska Airlines, All Nippon Airlines, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, EVA Air, Finnair, Hawaiian Airlines, Japan Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airline System, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, United Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia.

How does the site determine its rankings? A range of factors are analysed, from audits and fatality records to operational history and incident records.

For those who travel for non-business purposes, the question is which low-cost airlines are the most reliable. The top 10 budget airlines with the best safety records include Aer Lingus, Flybe, HK Express, Jetblue, Jetstar Australia, Thomas Cook, TUI Fly, Virgin America, Volaris and Westjet.

"Unlike a number of low cost carriers, these airlines have all passed the stringent International Air Transport Association Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and have excellent safety records," explains the site.

The report gives each airline a score out of seven, with 148 obtaining full marks. Only 10 have a score of under two and they all come from Indonesia, Nepal and Surinam.