New research from aviation industry group the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows air travel continues to become safer, with reductions measured in the number of fatal accidents last year and the overall fatality risk.
The pan-industry fatality risk measure is currently at 0.11. That means, on average, a person would need to take a flight every day for 25,214 years to experience what IATA calls “a 100% fatal accident”.
“Accidents are rare in aviation. There were five fatal accidents among 32.2 million flights in 2022. That tells us that flying is among the safest activities in which a person can engage,” said IATA director general Willie Walsh.
“But even though the risk of flying is exceptionally low, it is not risk-free. Careful analysis of the trends that are emerging even at these very high levels of safety is what will make flying even safer. This year’s report, for example, tells us that we need to make some special efforts on turboprop operations in Africa and Latin America. Safety is aviation’s highest priority, and our goal is to have every flight take off and land safely regardless of region or aircraft type,” he said.
Last year, there were five fatal air accidents, down from seven in 2021, and from the 5-year fatal accident rate.
