Aviation’s strong overall safety performance 

IATA (International Air Transport Association) which represents some 340 airlines comprising more than 80 percent of global air traffic, recently released its 2024 Annual Safety Report. The report points out that the aviation industry delivered another year of strong overall performance on safety including showing improvements on the five-year average for several key parameters, though it took a step back from an exceptional performance in 2023.

Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general, said: “Even with recent high profile aviation accidents, it is important to remember that accidents are extremely rare. There were 40.6 million flights in 2024 and seven fatal accidents. Moreover, the long-term story of aviation safety is one of continuous improvement. A decade ago, the five-year average (2011-2015) was one accident for every 456,000 flights. Today, the five-year average (2020-2024) is one accident for every 810,000 flights. That improvement is because we know that every fatality is one too many. We honour the memory of every life lost in an aviation accident with our deepest sympathies and ever greater resolve to make flying even safer. And for that, the accumulation of safety data, including the 2024 safety report, is our most powerful tool.”

Some key safety insights were that the downing of two aircraft in conflict zones (Kazakhstan with 38 fatalities and Sudan with five fatalities) has reinforced the importance of the Safer Skies initiative, established in the aftermath of the PS752 tragedy to facilitate safeguards in high-risk airspace. When people travel from one part of the world to another, they should have confidence they will not be exposed to the risks conflict zones pose to civilian flight operations.

Through the Safer Skies Initiative, Canada is working with states, international organisations, the civil aviation industry, and the International Civil Aviation Organisation, to enhance the level of safety and security for commercial airlines travelling in or near conflict zones.

Tail strikes and runway excursions were the most frequently reported accidents in 2024, underscoring the importance of take-off and landing safety measures. Notably, there were no controlled-flight-into-terrain (CFIT) accidents.

Airlines on the registry of the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA)  (including all IATA member airlines) had an accident rate of 0.92 per million flights, significantly lower than the 1.70 recorded by non-IOSA carriers.

The IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) Programme is an internationally recognised and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline. It uses internationally recognised quality audit principles and is designed to conduct audits in a standardised and consistent manner. All IATA members are IOSA registered and must remain registered to maintain their membership. IOSA has become the industry benchmark in safety auditing, contributing to improving safety performance and providing extensive cost-saving measures for IOSA participating airlines, says IATA.

While accidents and incidents related to conflict zones are considered security-related events and are not included in the report by IATA, they, along with growing incidents of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) interference, are a top concern for aviation safety requiring urgent global coordination.

In its report for Africa, the region had 10 accidents in 2024, the all-accident rate rose from 8.36 per million sectors in 2023 to 10.59 in 2024, exceeding the five-year average of 8.46. Africa (AFI) recorded the highest accident rate, though the fatality risk remained at zero for the second year in a row. The most common accident types in 2024 were runway excursions, followed by those related to landing gear. Forty percent of all accidents involving AFI-based operators were on turboprop aircraft. Through the IATA Focus Africa initiative, the Collaborative Safety Improvement Programme continues to mobilize resources to address key safety challenges.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA)  launched the Collaborative Aviation Safety Improvement Programme (CASIP) to reduce the accident and serious incident rate across Africa as part of the Focus Africa initiative.

“Improving safety performance is a priority for Africa. And we don’t need to reinvent the wheel to deliver the needed results. Collaborative safety teams in Latin America have demonstrated that safety improves when government and industry work together to implement global standards. By working together, the partners will pool resources to have a greater impact on areas where risk can be reduced, leading to measurable improvements in safety,” said Walsh.

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