Paris:

An airline industry group said on Wednesday that last year was the safest on record for commercial air travel, despite a sharp rebound in passenger flights.

The only fatal passenger aircraft accident was the crash of an ATR turboprop operated by Nepal’s Yeti Airlines during a domestic flight, killing 72 people, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual report.

The International Air Transport Association said there were another 29 accidents in 2023 that did not involve fatalities or loss of aircraft.

In 2022, a total of 42 accidents occurred, in which 5 people died and 158 people lost their lives.

IATA considers a non-fatal accident to be an event causing damage of at least US$1 million or 10% of the value of the aircraft.

IATA’s statistics do not include business, military, private, maintenance or training flights.

“The risk of fatalities and ‘total accident’ rates in 2023 are the lowest on record,” IATA said.

“On average, a person would have to travel by airplane every day for 103,239 years before experiencing a fatal accident.”

The International Air Transport Association said that although the number of flights increased by 17% last year to 37.7 million, the crash rate remained low.

IATA represents approximately 320 airlines, accounting for 83% of global air traffic.

“Even though flying is one of the safest activities a person can do, there is always room for improvement,” said Willie Walsh, IATA director general, citing the “first of 2024” Two high-profile accidents occurred in the past month.”

In January, a Japan Airlines A350 Airbus aircraft was safely evacuated after a fire broke out at Tokyo Airport.

In the United States, a panel blew off the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX flight but did not cause any serious damage.

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