SHERIDAN, WYOMING - March 31, 2026 - Airline operators, airport managers and regulators enter 2026 with clearer pressure points for capital planning and compliance, as IATA's 2025 safety data shows better overall accident rates but higher fatalities, continued turboprop exposure and a measurable role for airport infrastructure in accident outcomes. The report covers 38.7 million flights in 2025, with 51 accidents and an all-accident rate of 1.32 per million flights, better than 1.42 in 2024 but slightly above the 2021-2025 average of 1.27. Fatal accidents rose to eight from seven in 2024, and onboard fatalities increased to 394 from 244, while fatality risk reached 0.17 per million flights versus 0.06 a year earlier.
Safety performance signals for 2026
IATA's data shows a mixed operating picture rather than a simple improvement story. Jet accident rates improved to 1.03 per million flights in 2025 from 1.23 in 2024, while turboprop accident rates worsened to 4.08 from 3.22. For IATA member airlines, the all-accident rate improved to 0.72 per million flights from 1.11, and airlines on the IATA Operational Safety Audit registry recorded an all-accident rate of 0.98 compared with 2.55 for non-IOSA carriers.
The most common accident categories in 2025 were tail strikes, landing gear events, runway excursions and ground damage, concentrating risk around takeoff, landing and ground operations. The absence of loss of control inflight accidents in 2025 is notable because that category has historically been a leading cause of fatalities. Even with that result, a small number of fatal events heavily affected the year's fatality totals, with Air India 171 and PSA Airlines flight 5342 accounting for more than 77% of onboard loss of life in 2025.
Infrastructure and regional risk patterns
Airport facilities contributed to 16% of accidents in 2025, making infrastructure quality a direct operating issue rather than a background factor. IATA highlights runway safety areas, frangible installations, runway surface contaminants, inadequate markings or lighting, and obstacles within protected areas or near runways as areas needing stronger compliance with global safety standards. The report also notes that rigid obstacles near runways increased accident severity in several events.
Regional performance remains uneven. Africa recorded the highest accident rate in 2025 at 7.86 per million sectors, improved from 12.13 in 2024 and below its five-year average of 9.37, but fatality risk moved from zero to 2.19. In the Commonwealth of Independent States, the all-accident rate rose to 2.74 from 1.44, above the five-year average of 2.26, and all accidents involved turboprop aircraft. Europe improved to 1.30 from 1.48, though that remained above its five-year average of 1.11, while fatality risk fell to zero. Asia-Pacific improved to 0.91 from 1.08 and remained better than its five-year average of 0.99.
Business impact
Operations directors and safety management teams have a stronger basis for 2026 budget decisions around runway risk controls, line maintenance, ground handling discipline and turboprop fleet oversight. The concentration of accident types around landing phases and ramp activity supports targeted spending on recurrent training, airport operating procedures, hazard reporting and station-level performance reviews instead of broad, non-specific safety programs.
Procurement leads and compliance managers also face more explicit vendor and certification choices. The gap between IOSA and non-IOSA accident rates gives airline boards and alliance managers a measurable screen for partner selection, wet-lease reviews and third-party operational assessments. Airport authorities and infrastructure planners are under similar pressure to document conformity on runway safety areas, lighting, markings and obstacle management, because infrastructure contributed to 16% of accidents and can influence whether an event remains survivable. For 2026, that shifts safety from a reporting function into sourcing, audit and capital allocation decisions across airlines and airports.