Anyone who's turned on the news in the last few months knows that air travel has been making headlines. What started as anxiety around the mechanical mishaps of the Boeing 747 has evolved into seemingly constant reports of aviation incidents.
A string of accidents, from the fatal tragedies of the midair collision in Washington DC and the plane crash in South Korea to the concerning accident on the runway in Canada, has travelers wondering about the safety of their next flight.
We reached out to the experts for insight into air travel safety in the coming year.
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Is It Safe to Fly in 2025?
Despite the anxiety surrounding air travel, experts maintain that boarding a flight in 2025 is just as safe as it's ever been.
“I don't want to downplay too much the things that have happened, especially the accident in Washington DC and the one in Korea, but I think it's very important for people to have a sense of historical perspective right now,” says Patrick Smith, pilot and author of the Ask the Pilot travel column and website, “People need to go and look back through the the crash record of the 60s, the 70s, the 80s, all the way into the early 2000s to get a sense of just how common serious airplane accidents used to be versus just how uncommon they are today.”
The frequency of major accidents over the last few years has been at its lowest point in commercial aviation history, with an average risk of one fatality per 13.7 millions passengers. Recent accidents stand out harshly against this comparatively quiet period, particuarly coming off of 2023’s record year for aviation safety. However, the International Air Travel Association cites the overall downward trend in their 2024 safety report, reaffirming that flying remains one of the safest ways to travel.
“Despite recent public misperceptions that flying has become riskier, commercial airliners are rarely involved in accidents,” confirms Captain Jason Ambrosi, President of the Air Line Pilots Association, “Nevertheless, every challenge and tragedy that does occur sparks a thorough investigation dedicated to making aviation safer. Just as previous accidents led to necessary safety reforms, so too will these recent crashes.”
As always, make sure to pay attention to the safety demonstration, follow the instructions of your cabin crew in the events of an emergency, and rest assured that air travel is no less safe than it was a few years ago.