- It is not the best year for aircraft manufacturers and travelers
- According to the association, 17 accidents involving passenger and freight aircraft were investigated in 2024
It is not the best year for aircraft manufacturers and travelers
According to preliminary data from the German Air Traffic Industry Association BDL, a total of 334 people lost their lives in civil aviation accidents worldwide last year.
The fatalities included passengers, crew members, and seven persons on the ground.
By comparison, only 80 people died in plane crashes in 2023, the second-lowest number of fatalities since 1970.
The BDL statistics include accidents involving aircraft with at least 14 seats. Incidents involving smaller and military aircraft were not considered for the report.
According to the association, 17 accidents involving passenger and freight aircraft were investigated in 2024
According to the association, while the number of fatalities in aircraft accidents was at a record low in 2017, the number of deaths has increased in recent years.
However, long-term trends show that safety levels are now significantly higher. "Last year, flying was around 53 times safer than in the 1970s," explained Joachim Lang, head of BDL.
The biggest accident occurred on 29 December when a Boeing 737-800 from South Korean airline Jeju Air crashed on landing at Muan airport. The crash claimed the lives of 179 passengers, but two crew members survived. The causes of the accident are still being investigated.
The UN's International Civil Aviation Organisation estimates that by 2024, some 4.7 billion passengers will have flown on planes worldwide - more than ten times as many as in the 1970s, when just 440 million people flew each year. Back then, there were years when more than 2,000 people died in aircraft accidents.
Based on ELTA reports
