The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has welcomed an improvement in aviation safety with its latest report showing that fewer fatal accidents occurred in 2022 compared to 2021 and to the five-year average 2018 to 2022.According to Iata CEO Willie Walsh, accidents are rare in aviation and only five fatal accidents occurred in 2022 among 32,2 million f lights.“Even though the risk of f lying is exceptionally low, it is not risk-free. “Careful analysis of the trends that are emerging even at these very high levels of safety is what will make f lying even safer. “This year’s report tells us that we need to make some special efforts on turboprop operations in Africa and Latin America. Safety is aviation’s highest priority, and our goal is to have every f light take off and land safely regardless of region or aircraft type,” he said.African aviation safety has long been a priority for Iata. Walsh said Sub-Saharan Africa had seen increases in turboprop accidents last year. In 2022, 19 people died in an aircraft accident in Tanzania.“The introduction and adherence to global standards are key to reversing this trend. The priority for Africa continues to be implementation of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) safety-related standards and recommended practices.”At year-end 2022, some 28 African countries (61%) had an effective implementation rate of ICAO’s standard and recommended practices of 60% or greater, unchanged from 2021. Increased attention is being paid to address the critical elements of these practices.“Building a data rich environment across Africa is also essential to delivering regional improvements such as IATA’s Global Aviation Data Management programme,” sa id Wa l sh.
