Flying on the worst airlines in the world often feels like you’re in the middle of a bad joke. Malfunctioning bathrooms, ancient aircrafts, and rude staff usually greet flyers on flights that might make you question your sanity by the time you deplane. Some airlines forget to tell passengers that the flight was canceled. Other carriers feature abominable safety records and are banned from European and American airspace. Customer service seems like a luxury that isn’t on the menu with many terrible airlines. In fact, many carriers don’t offer any menu at all since serving food seems to be a relic from the last century.
It’s tough to rate an airline as the worst in the world based upon just one or two factors. The world’s worst airlines tend to exhibit a suitcase full of bad habits like extra fees, late arrivals, and boarding schedules that make you feel like you’ve joined the bovine community. Some of these airlines don’t even offer discount fares and expect passengers to pay standard prices for an immensely forgettable experience. Before you book your next flight, make sure you’re not buying a ticket on one of the 20 worst airlines in the world.
1. Turkmenistan Airlines
According to the leading airline reviewer Skytrax, Turkmenistan Airlines have rightfully earned the title of one of the worst airlines in the world. They are based out of Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, and have a fleet of Boeing airplanes for their passenger flights. Apart from being the first former Soviet state to use Boeing aircraft, all of their international flight are flown by Western-trained pilots. However, that doesn’t seem to help them a lot.
According to Business Insider, “Turkmenistan Airlines is the worst airline to fly economy,” based on problems with flight attendants, check-in, and cabin safety.’’ Although their company slogan is ‘symbol of hospitality’, the reviews on Skytrax tell a different story. The majority of people complain about the staff, saying that they are extremely rude and incompetent in English.
Turkmenistan Airlines also have atrocious scores for seat comfort, meals and efficiency of service.
Online reviews from Skytrax said:
‘’Worst airline and customer service I’ve seen, miserable staff who don’t smile. Travelled with them once before and was unimpressed, however gave them the benefit of doubt and used them again. […] 3 seats together for my family which is what I would expect […]they split our seats, how on earth can an airline give a 3 year old a seat on the other end of the aircraft by themselves, one seat at back of aircraft, one in middle and one at the front. When we spoke to staff they couldn’t care less! Last time we will use this airline. [sic]’’
‘’ On arriving for check in we were informed the flight was delayed 11 hours – spent all day at the airport. On boarding the flight the staff were rude and unhelpful – not even fully conversant in English. [sic]’’
‘’We were delayed for 14 hours! They overbooked our tickets on our return flight – no apology no compensation – no nothing. Pay the extra if you dont want to be delayed – these guys are a complete joke. [sic]’’