2006 the Safest Year on Record for Air Transport

It is certainly no longer the most comfortable way to travel, but air transport remains the safest form of travel according to The International Air Transport Association (IATA). Better still – IATA’s annual Safety Report, which was released yesterday, 16 April, showed that 2006 was the safest year on record.

While you could argue that the 77 accidents recorded in 2006 are too many, it is still a reduction of 34 compared to the 111 accidents recorded in 2005.

The most dangerous region in which to fly was the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), with an accident rate 13 times the global average. Africa had the second highest accident rate in the world, however major safety improvements had been made in this region compared to the previous year.

Flight crew training and communication were two of the three major contributing factors. The biggest culprit, however, was adverse weather, with 43% of the accidents happening in bad weather.

Something to remember the next time you’re feeling grumpy, because your flight has been cancelled due to bad weather.

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