ICAO: Global Aviation Accidents Rose to 95 in 2024 Despite Record Traffic

AVIATION NEWS NETWORK

The International Civil Aviation Organization released its 2025 Safety Report revealing a troubling increase in global aviation accidents during 2024. Scheduled commercial flights experienced 95 accidents compared to 66 the previous year, pushing the accident rate to 2.56 per million departures despite record global traffic exceeding 37 million departures.

Safety Concerns Mount Across Regions

Four high-risk categories — controlled flight into terrain, loss of control in-flight, mid-air collision and runway incursion — accounted for 40% of fatal accidents globally. The Asia-Pacific region saw its accident rate more than double to 1.62 per million departures from 0.78 the prior year, according to ICAO's regional analysis.

Industry analysts characterize the findings as a wake-up call for global aviation. While commercial aviation maintains a strong overall safety record, ICAO and IATA are urging immediate implementation of Global Aviation Safety Plan measures to address the uptick in fatality risk across the identified high-risk categories.