NEW YORK, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- In the just released 2024 Transportation Statistics Report from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, air travel is identified as the absolute safest form of transportation.
"Transportation incidents for all modes claimed 44,546 lives in 2022, of which all but 2,032 involved highway motor vehicles. Preliminary estimates for 2023 suggest a further decline in fatalities," said the report. "There were no deaths from crashes on large commercial airlines in 2023, but several hundred deaths occurred in crashes in general aviation, commuter air, and air taxi services."
The safety record is a little spottier abroad, but most common destinations for U.S. travelers, like Western Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Oceania have similarly strong aviation safety records, said USA Today on Tuesday about the report.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), worldwide in 2023 there was only one fatal commercial airliner crash, which resulted in 72 deaths. In the North America, Asia Pacific and Europe regions, the fatality rate for commercial flying was around 0.5 for every million flights, while in Latin America and the Caribbean it was 4.5 fatalities per million flights and in Africa it was about 11 fatalities per million flights in 2023, according to IATA. ■
