Aviation safety improved despite the challenges of pandemic recovery
Montréal,29 August 2024 – The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) announced to delegates during its 14thICAO Air Navigation Conference underway in Montréal that aviation safety continued to improve despite the operational challenges of the pandemic recovery.
The Organization’s Safety Report for scheduled commercial air travel in 2023 shows that the fatality rate dropped to 17 people per billion passengers in 2023, down from 50 people per billion passengers in 2022. The global accident rate decreased to 1.87 accidents per million departures in 2023, down from 2.05 in 2022.
This occurred as passenger traffic increased to around 4.2 billion passengers globally in 2023, up from 3.2 billion in 2022, and flight departures increased to over 35 million in 2023, compared to around 31 million in 2022, and represents progress towards the goals set forth in ICAO’s Global Aviation Safety Plan.
"These impressive safety figures reflect the dedication and hard work of the entire aviation community," said ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano. " Our unwavering goal remains zero fatalities in commercial aviation. Achieving this ambitious target requires a collective effort. Together, we can and will make the skies even safer for every passenger and crew member.”
The report indicates that 2023 was the safest year in the past five years in terms of safety indicators such as, global accident rate, number of fatal accidents, total fatalities and fatality rate. Regrettably, there was one fatal accident in 2023, which took the lives of 72 people. While this is a net improvement compared to 2022 in which seven accidents brought 160 fatalities, it nevertheless underscores the importance of the work for the aviation community to ensure safety remains a top priority in the sector.
“ICAO is committed to driving further improvements through our Global Aviation Safety Plan and targeted initiatives addressing high-risk areas. We're enhancing our audit programmes, updating global standards, and providing tailored assistance to Member States.,” remarked ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar. “We call on all our partners - governments, airlines, airports, air traffic service providers and manufacturers - to intensify their safety efforts and collaborate closely with ICAO.”
The report also provides a detailed breakdown of accidents by occurrence category in 2023. Turbulence encounter (TURB) accounted for the most accidents, followed by abnormal runway contact (ARC) related accidents. These two categories combined represented around half of all accidents for the year. Notably, there was one loss of control inflight (LOC-I) related fatal accident that resulted in all 72 fatalities recorded in 2023.
In terms of aircraft damage, two airplanes were destroyed during the year: one due to a loss of control on ground (LOC-G) accident and the other from a LOC-I accident. Additionally, eight airplanes sustained substantial damage from ARC-related accidents.
Other categories contributing to accidents with substantial aircraft damage included aerodrome (ADRM), bird strike (BIRD), ground collision (GCOL), ground handling (RAMP), system/component failure or malfunction (non-powerplant) (SCF-NP), and wind shear or thunderstorm (WSTRW).
The report highlights five global high-risk categories of occurrence (G-HRCs) identified by ICAO. These G-HRCs are: controlled flight into terrain (CFIT), loss of control in-flight (LOC-I), mid-air collision (MAC), runway excursion (RE), and runway incursion (RI). In 2023, these G-HRCs collectively accounted for 100% of fatalities, 100% of fatal accidents, and 9% of the total number of accidents.
The vision of the Global Aviation Safety Plan is to achieve and maintain the goal of zero fatalities in commercial operations by 2030 and beyond. To do so, operational safety risks – primarily the G-HRCs – need to be identified and addressed. Through collaboration with States, regions, and industry stakeholders, ICAO is helping to implement specific safety enhancement initiatives for each area.
About ICAO
A specialized agency of the United Nations, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) leads the international alignment of technical standards and strategies, facilitating the safe, secure, and sustainable development of its 193 member states’ aviation sectors and air services.
General Contact: communications [at] icao.int (communications[at]icao[dot]int) Media Contact: William Raillant-Clark, Communications Officer
wraillantclark [at] icao.int (wraillantclark[at]icao[dot]int)