Global Aviation Safety Report Shows Rise in Accidents and Fatalities in 2024

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The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has released its 2025 State of Global Aviation Safety report, revealing a troubling rise in both aviation accidents and fatalities in 2024 compared to the previous year.

According to the report, the total number of commercial flight accidents worldwide has steadily increased since 2021. After a sharp decline during the COVID-19 pandemic, when only 48 accidents were recorded in both 2020 and 2021, the numbers began to climb again—reaching 64 in 2022, 66 in 2023, and a significant jump to 95 in 2024.

ICAO noted that the lower numbers in 2020 and 2021 were largely due to reduced global air traffic during the pandemic. With passenger demand rebounding to pre-2019 levels, accident numbers have risen in parallel with overall flight activity.

Fatal accidents and associated deaths also surged in 2024. While only one fatal accident occurred in 2023, the figure spiked to 10 in 2024. Individual fatalities linked to these incidents rose sharply from 72 in 2023 to 296 in 2024. The report found that more than 80% of fatalities were tied to loss-of-control inflight incidents and bird strikes. Additionally, turbulence accounted for nearly 75% of all serious injuries recorded worldwide.

Global Aviation Safety Key Metrics (2024)

  • Total Commercial Flight Accidents: 95, up from 66 in 2023—a 43.9% increase.
  • Fatal Accidents: 10 recorded in 2024.
  • Individual Fatalities: A sharp rise to 296 deaths, up from 72 in 2023.
  • Global Accident Rate: 2.56 accidents per million departures, compared to 1.87 in 2023—a 36.8% increase.

Breaking down results by region, North America, Central America, and the Caribbean reported the highest share of total aviation accidents. However, the Asia-Pacific region saw the greatest share of fatal accidents, fatalities, and serious injuries, representing nearly 60% of global totals in 2024.

“In response to existing and emerging trends, ICAO is working in partnership with the international aviation community to achieve future safety improvements,” the report said. The organization emphasized that its efforts focus on strengthening safety performance, reducing operational risks, and supporting global standardization.

The 2025 State of Global Aviation Safety report not only reviews accident statistics from 2019 through 2024 but also provides updated indicators in line with ICAO’s Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP). The findings underscore the industry’s ongoing challenge of improving safety outcomes while managing the resurgence of global air travel.

ICAO’s 2025 State of Global Aviation Safety: https://www.icao.int/sites/default/files/sp-files/safety/Documents/ICAO_SR_2025.pdf?


Related News: https://airguide.info/?s=ICAO, https://airguide.info/category/air-travel-business/travel-health-security/

Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, icao.int

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