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The International Air Transport Association (THERE IT IS) has published its Annual Security Report 2025, revealing a contrasting landscape for the global industry. Photo km30192002
Although the overall accident rate experienced an improvement compared to the previous year, the 2025 was marked by a painful increase in the number of fatalities, driven primarily by a handful of catastrophic events that have put the focus back on airport infrastructure and operational standards.
Although the global trading volume reached 38.7 million flights, a growth compared to the 37.9 millions of 2024, the industry continues to face the challenge of reducing the loss of human life to zero.
The air safety of 2025 in figures
The report highlights that the “all accidents” rate was at 1.32 for every million flights (which is equivalent to one accident for every 759,646 flights). This figure represents an improvement over the 1.42 from 2024, although it remains slightly above the five-year average (2021-2025), which is from 1.27.
| Security Metric | 2024 | 2025 | Average 5 years (21-25) |
| Accident rate (per million flights) | 1.42 | 1.32 | 1.27 |
| Total accidents | 54 | 51 | 44 |
| Fatal accidents | 7 | 8 | 6 |
| Deaths on board | 244 | 394 | 198 |
| Risk of fatality | 0.06 | 0.17 | 0.12 |
The most worrying data is the increase in the risk of fatality, that jumped to 0.17. This increase is due to the severity of a small group of accidents that accounted for the majority of human losses..
Tragedies that marked the year
Despite the statistical rarity of accidents, the 2025 witnessed large-scale disasters. Two events in particular represented more than 77% of all deaths on board:
- Air India 171: With 241 fatalities.
- PSA Airlines 5342: With 64 fatalities.
These events underscore that even in a highly secure environment, The severity of a single event can dramatically alter global statistics. The report of THERE IT IS identifies a clear trend in the most common incident types: tail strikes (tail strokes), landing gear events, runway excursions and ground damage.
- The Absence of LOC-I: For the second time in history (after 2020), There were no accidents due to Loss of Control in Flight (LOC-I), one of the traditionally most lethal categories.
- Airport Infrastructure: Airport facilities contributed to 16% of accidents. Willie Walsh, Director General of IATA, warned that the presence of rigid obstacles near the runways turned potentially survivable incidents into fatal tragedies.
- The IOSA Factor: IATA Operational Safety Audit Remains Biggest Differentiator. Airlines on the IOSA registry had an accident rate of 0.98, in front of 2.55 of unaudited airlines.
Analysis by region
Air safety does not behave uniformly around the globe. While some regions maintain zero risk levels, others face persistent structural challenges.
| Region | Bowl 2025 | Bowl 2024 | Trend |
| Africa | 7.86 | 12.13 | Improvement |
| Pacific Asia | 0.91 | 1.08 | Improvement |
| CIS (Ex-USSR) | 2.74 | 1.44 | Deterioration |
| Europe | 1.3 | 1.48 | Improvement |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | 1.77 | 1.84 | Improvement |
| Middle East and N. Africa | 0.53 | 1.09 | Improvement |
| North America | 1.68 | 1.49 | Deterioration |
| North Asia | 0.16 | 0.16 | Stable |
- Africa: It still has the highest rate in the world, although it improved significantly. The 71% of their accidents involved turboprop aircraft.
- CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States): Recorded a worrying increase in the accident rate, with turboprops as the exclusive protagonists of their accidents, including a fatal Controlled Flight into Terrain event (CFIT) who charged 48 lives.
- North America: Experienced an increase in the accident rate (1.68), driven primarily by ground damage and tail strikes.
- Latin America and the caribbean: It showed resilient improvement with a rate of 1.77, runway excursions being the most recurrent type of accident in the region.
«Flying is the safest way to travel long distances. Aviation's goal remains zero accidents and zero fatalities. “Every accident is one too many and reminds us that we must focus on continuous improvement through global standards.”
— Willie Walsh, Director General of IATA.
The 2025 leaves us a clear lesson: security is not a static state, but a discipline of constant vigilance. The elimination of LOC-I accidents is a technological and training triumph, but the vulnerability in ground maneuvers and the physical infrastructure of airports emerge as the new frontiers that the industry must ensure so that the tragedy of 2025 do not repeat.
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