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2025 IATA Annual Safety Report: Global Accident Rate Improves, but Fatalities and GNSS Interference Surge

Dergam Mousa

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released its 2025 Annual Safety Report, revealing a global accident rate of 1.32 per million flights. Although this figure represents an improvement over the 1.42 recorded in 2024, the report highlights a worrying increase in the number of fatalities and a critical spike in satellite navigation interference.

Global Safety Performance Analysis

During 2025, 38.7 million flights were operated, recording a total of 51 accidents. This figure is lower than the 54 accidents occurred in 2024, although it remains above the five-year average (2021-2025) of 44 accidents.

Safety Indicator202420255-Year Average
Accident Rate (per million flights)1.421.321.27
Fatal Accidents786
Onboard Fatalities244394198
Fatality Risk0.060.170.12

The increase in the death toll is primarily attributed to two specific events: Air India flight 171 and PSA Airlines 5342, which together accounted for more than 77% of the lives lost in 2025.

Emerging Threats: GNSS Interference and Conflict Zones

One of the most critical points of the report is the drastic increase in interference with the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).

Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, described these practices as “unacceptable and irresponsible,” urging governments to improve situational awareness and mitigation tools for pilots.

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Additionally, the proliferation of conflict zones (such as the recent confrontation between the US/Israel and Iran) has increased operational complexity, forcing flight reruns and demanding closer civil-military coordination to avoid putting civilian aircraft at risk.

Operational Milestones and Areas for Improvement

Despite the challenges, the industry achieved a significant milestone: for the second time in history (the previous time being in 2020), no accidents due to Loss of Control In-flight (LOC-I) were recorded, which is one of the deadliest categories in aviation.

Airport Infrastructure

The report indicates that airport facilities contributed to 16% of accidents in 2025. Walsh emphasized that the presence of rigid obstacles near runways turned otherwise survivable incidents into fatal accidents, calling for a review of Runway Safety Areas (RSA) under global standards.

Value of the IOSA Audit

Airlines enrolled in the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) demonstrated superior performance, with an accident rate of 0.98, compared to 2.55 for non-audited airlines. All IATA member airlines eligible for audit are already part of the IOSA registry.

Regional Performance

Lack of Transparency in Investigations

IATA expressed concern over the delay and lack of publication of official accident reports. Only 63% of accident reports between 2019 and 2023 were completed in accordance with the obligations of the Chicago Convention. In Africa, this figure drops to an alarming 19%, while the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) leads with 81% compliance.

To combat this lack of data, IATA has launched a centralized platform that consolidates safety recommendations from final reports to prevent future events.

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