The crash of an Air India passenger jet bound for London on Thursday that killed 241 of the 242 people on board is raising questions about what appears to be an alarming rise in the number of aviation disasters.
But even though accidents and fatalities onboard commercial passenger aircraft in 2024 were the highest since 2018, aviation experts agree that air travel remains the safest form of transportation, The Telegraph reported Thursday.
In 2024, there were 16 fatal accidents with commercial aircraft resulting in the deaths of 333 passengers and crew, The Telegraph reported. But 2023 was one of the safest years, with just six fatal accidents resulting in the deaths of 115 passengers.
The Air India crash is the second fatal accident involving a commercial passenger jet this year. In January, an American Airlines flight collided with a U.S. Army helicopter while preparing to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., killing all 67 on board both aircraft. It was the deadliest U.S. plane crash in more than two decades.
There have been a number of nonfatal incidents this year, including in February, when a Delta Airlines plane flipped upside down after a heavy landing at Toronto airport, and in mid-March, when an American Airlines plane caught fire after developing an engine problem. There have been 19 fatal disasters involving smaller aircraft in 2025, according to The Telegraph, including a medical transportation jet crashing in Philadelphia while carrying a sick child who was returning home after undergoing life-saving treatment.
Even with the high rate of aviation fatalities in 2024, the past decade has been by far the safest on record, according to The Telegraph. British and Irish airlines have the best safety records in the world, with Ryanair and easyJet having never suffered a fatal accident.
“In 2024 there were over 37 million scheduled flights operated by airlines around the world and the number of major incidents could be counted on two hands,” John Grant of flight database and statistics company OAG, told The Telegraph. “Such a level of safe flight completion highlights and confirms that air travel is one of the safest forms of transport available and that the professionalism and technical expertise of the industry continues to ensure that safety remains at the very heart of all flights operated.”
Damien Devlin, a lecturer in aviation management at the University of East London told The Telegraph that recent incidents will inevitably attract attention and focus on the aviation industry but such incidents remain almost incalculably rare.
“According to IATA [International Air Transport Association], there is, on average, just one accident for every 1.26 million flights,” Devlin said. “Though challenges persist during the takeoff and landing phases, where half of the accidents occur. The industry must continue identifying how training, technology and flight decision-making can further enhance safety and its safety culture.
“Nevertheless, for perspective, a person would need to travel by air daily for 103,239 years to encounter a fatal accident.”
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