IATA Annual Safety Report Executive Summary

Safety is aviation’s highest priority. In 2024, airlines transported 5 billion passengers on over 40 million flights, reinforcing commercial aviation as one of the safest modes of transport. The industry’s commitment to continuous safety improvements has resulted in a long-term reduction in accident rates, from 3.72 accidents per million sectors in 2005 to 1.13 in 2024.

While seven fatal accidents in 2024 led to a total of 244 on-board fatalities, ongoing safety advancements helped prevent more severe outcomes. A key milestone was achieving zero controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) accidents, a major contributor to past fatalities.

However, new and evolving challenges must be addressed. Conflict zones remain a critical safety concern. The tragic shooting down of Azerbaijan Airlines, Flight 8243 that claimed 39 lives should never have happened. No civil aircraft should ever be a target—deliberate or accidental—of military operations. Governments must step up and improve intelligence-sharing. Other risks remain, GPS jamming, GPS spoofing, and new risks are developing, airspace hazards such as rocket debris. We need to stay on top of these.

Ensuring the highest levels of aviation safety requires a proactive, data-driven approach. Strengthening data-sharing mechanisms, such as through IATA's Global Aviation Data Management (GADM) program, is essential to this effort. By pooling safety intelligence, emerging risks can be identified more effectively, enabling timely, targeted interventions.

More detailed insights into precursors of high-risk events, such as mid-air collisions, can help detect escalating safety risks and support earlier preventive action. Given this, States must promptly share critical intelligence from Mandatory Occurrence Reporting (MOR) programs and more focus must be on other forms of reporting such as Air Safety Reports.

Aviation safety relies on continuous learning and improvement. To stay ahead of risks, the industry must reinforce data-sharing frameworks, foster a culture where both mandatory and non-mandatory occurrence reporting is prioritized, and ensure safety-critical insights are shared without delay. Only through this collective effort will data-driven safety programs support further enhancements in global aviation safety.

Safety remains a shared responsibility. Strengthening risk management, timely accident reporting, and proactive measures are essential to reducing risks. IATA remains committed to data-driven safety strategies and collaboration with industry stakeholders to continuously enhance aviation safety.

I extend my gratitude to the Accident Classification Task Force (ACTF), Operations Advisory Council (OAC), Safety Group (SG), Cabin Operations Safety Task Force (COSTF), Human Factors Task Force (HFTF), and all IATA staff for their dedication to this mission.

The aviation system is safe and resilient, but we can never become complacent as we look to further reduce the risk of incidents and accidents in this rapidly growing sector. This is underscored by rising passenger numbers and flight sectors flown, with total full-year traffic in 2024 increasing by 10.4% compared to 2023, and surpassing pre-pandemic (2019) levels by 3.9%.

Recognizing the critical importance of safety, the industry consistently seeks to enhance standards, policies and procedures, skills and behaviours to maintain aviation’s position as the safest form of long-distance mass transport. This unwavering commitment to safety is fundamental to ensuring a resilient and thriving aviation industry.

Safety data and intelligence serve as the industry's compass guiding its focus on safety performance and continuous improvement. The IATA Annual Safety Report helps identify safety priorities and deliver further safety improvements. This comprehensive report not only benchmarks progress but also drives advancements in safety across the industry.

Safety as a shared responsibility

The aviation industry continuously adapts to rapid technological advancements, increasing environmental challenges, and an ever-changing political landscape. This dynamic ecosystem demands a high level of accountability where strong safety leadership, and a continuously evolving safety culture, permits organizations to safely manage their complex operational environments.

Recognizing the significance of safety culture, interest in the IATA Safety Leadership Charter has grown across the industry and is a key priority for the Association.

Since September 2023, 121 airline Chief Executive Officers, representing over 75% of global commercial traffic, have signed the Charter. IATA aims for all industry leaders to join, demonstrating their commitment to a positive safety mindset and industry-wide safety improvements.

In 2024, IATA updated the Risk-Based IOSA maturity criteria to include elements from the Safety Leadership Charter, with this integration continuing into 2025. The Safety Leadership program also supports regional initiatives like “Focus Africa,” launched in 2023.

Another key priority is the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. Investigating aviation accidents and incidents is crucial to reduce the chance of future occurrences. Investigations collect and analyze information, identify causal factors and future mitigations, and formulate safety recommendations. IATA urges States to adhere to ICAO Annex 13 to deliver timely accident investigation reports. This ask was presented to the ICAO 2024 Air Navigation Conference and was overwhelmingly supported as an issue of global concern.

In 2024, IATA introduced its IATA Connect Platform to facilitate the secure exchange of safety information, including IOSA documentation, and to provide a dedicated space for the engagement, and collaboration, of  safety professionals and technical experts from around the globe. Over 2,300 aviation safety professionals including regulators, IOSA-registered airlines, and auditors, have already joined the IATA Connect community.

The IATA Safety Issue Hub, now hosted within IATA Connect, continues to grow in terms of number of issues raised and depth of knowledge shared. Serving as a repository of nearly 100 safety issues, the Hub provides industry-developed Safety Risk Assessments (SRAs) and guidance materials to highlight and promote best practices. 

Addressing Systematic Safety Risks

Mitigating operational and systematic safety risks through a comprehensive and collaborative approach is a priority. Key areas include:

• Traffic Collision Avoidance System Resolution Advisory Measurement Enhancement (TCAS RA): Our commitment to aviation safety includes improving the effectiveness of TCAS RA. In collaboration with industry partners, IATA has integrated TCAS RA Method B into our FDX program to assess pilot responses to TCAS advisories with the aim to further reduce mid-air collision risks.
• Runway Safety: We remain committed to aviation safety by supporting proactive measures to reduce operational occurrences like runway excursions, runway incursions, hard landings, and tail strikes. This commitment is evident through initiatives aimed at mitigating runway safety risks, such as new safety risk assessments to address tail strikes and runway incursions.
• Unstable Approaches: IATA has further defined, and categorized, high-risk unstable approaches with the aim of improving event classification, within FDX, for its users. Various safety performance indicators were captured including Egregious Unstable Approaches and, in 2025, IATA will continue assessing SPI to identify key factors relating to high-risk unstable approaches.
• Loss of Control Inflight (LOC-I): In 2024, IATA conducted a study with industry partners to review LOC-I accident data and industry materials. This study led to the successful publication of the “Loss of Control in Flight – Environmental Conditions" SRA focused on the environmental conditions as well as systemic and human performance.
• Controlled Flight into Terrain (CFIT): IATA has collaborated with various EGPWS/TAWS Suppliers to address the update issue of the EGPWS/TAWS databases, this effort resulted in the publication of the Enhance Access to EGPWS/TAWS Database Information guide.

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) jamming and spoofing

Over the past year, airspace users have reported increased GPS/GNSS interference. These disruptions include jamming, which blocks navigation system data, and spoofing, which provides false positioning, navigation, and timing information.

IATA has developed and published a GNSS RFI SRA, which has been updated several times throughout 2024. It will continue to evolve through stakeholder engagement and collaboration, ensuring the industry has access to the latest developments and recommendations for mitigate this risk.

In conclusion, despite annual fluctuations in safety performance, overall, aviation gets safer every year. It is the dedication and professionalism of all safety-critical personnel around the world that will ensure we continue on this trajectory of continuous safety improvement and, for that, I thank everyone of you.

Flying on a commercial aircraft remains one of the safest ways to travel, even though accidents occur.

After a slightly lower number of accidents in 2023, unfortunately, in 2024 we saw an increase. As always, IATA’s Accident Classification Task Force (ACTF) thoroughly analyzed each and every accident. What stands out most is the number of fatalities, 244 lives were sadly lost.

My condolences go out to the families and friends who lost loved ones. Every fatality is not only a personal tragedy but also a profound loss to all those involved in flight safety. I’ve spent the better part of my professional life in aviation safety and I can assure you, that every fatality still rocks me to the core.

Aviation is incredibly safe, even with the uptick in accidents. The numbers tell the story — flying has never been safer over the long term. And our focus is clear: driving safety forward through global standards and continuous improvement. I am convinced that a ‘zero fatalities’ year in civil commercial aviation is possible and nothing less should be our collective goal.

Achieving this is not just the responsibility of pilots; safety is a shared duty we can only achieve together. Every person involved in aviation — from aircraft manufacturers and maintenance personnel to dispatchers, air traffic controllers, flight and cabin crews, ground handling teams, cargo shippers, navigation data providers, and beyond—must be dedicated to safety. And this commitment must extend from frontline staff to CEOs, Boards of Directors, and Accountable Managers, who must ensure that working conditions support and promote safe operations.

For airlines, Safety Management Systems (SMS) have been mandatory for many years now. They should be the standard for every aviation-related organization and an IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) for any SMS helps to make sure it is functional. But that alone is not enough. A positive safety culture is essential - although not easy to establish. It requires continuous attention, dedication and reinforcement at all levels of an organization. This needs to be a priority.

Even then we’re only halfway there. This industry needs well selected people, properly trained and experienced professionals, people who understand both the risks and the mitigations, who act consciously every day despite their repetitive tasks.

Over the past 100 years, we’ve designed aircraft with backup systems to handle failures safely. Now, we need to apply the same approach to the entire aviation industry — building strong, well-prepared organizations that can prevent accidents before they happen. Our goal is simple: zero fatalities.