With two major passenger aircraft crashes at the end of last year, 2024 officially closed as the deadliest year in commercial aviation since 2018.
The first incident, an Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft that crashed in Kazakhstan on December 25, killed at least 38 of the 67 people on board.
A US official told CNN that early indications suggest a Russian anti-aircraft system may have downed the passenger jet.
Reuters also reported that the plane was downed by a Russian air defence system, citing multiple unnamed sources in Azerbaijan with knowledge of the investigation.
In the second incident, just two of the 181 people on board South Korean airline Jeju Air survived when the passenger jet crash-landed at an airport in the country’s southwest on December 29.
The aircraft skidded down the runway at Muan International Airport on its belly before bursting into flames. The two survivors – both crew members, one male and one female – were rescued from the tail section, the only part of the aircraft that remained intact, emergency services said.
It was the deadliest aviation disaster to hit South Korea since 1997, according to CNN.
Data compiled by Cirium shows that onboard passenger aircraft fatalities last year jumped to 318 with these two recent crashes.
This is by far the highest death toll since more than 500 people died in 2018, a year marked by the first of two Boeing 737 Max crashes.
The government of South Korea has announced that it will conduct nationwide inspections on all Boeing 737-800 aircraft following the deadly crash at Muan International Airport.
Jeju Air added that it plans to cut 1 878 flights in the first quarter of 2025 to upgrade its operational safety after the deadly incident, according to AirlineGeeks.
The Azerbaijan Airlines incident is also still being investigated.
Despite these incidents, 90% of Travel News readers have indicated in a recent poll that they have not received more questions from clients about aircraft safety. Only the remaining 10% have.
Safest airlines for 2025
On the flip side, airline safety and product rating website AirlineRatings.com has unveiled the safest airlines for 2025.
The website analysed 385 airlines based on serious incidents over the past two years, fleet age, fleet size, incident rate, fatalities, profitability, IOSA certification, ICAO country audit pass, and pilot skill and training.
According to the website, the top 25 safest airlines for 2025 are as follows:
- Air New Zealand
- Qantas
- Cathay Pacific; Qatar Airways; Emirates
- Virgin Australia
- Etihad Airways
- ANA
- EVA Air
- Korean Air
- Alaska Airlines
- Turkish Airlines
- TAP Portugal
- Hawaiian Airlines
- American Airlines
- SAS
- British Airways
- Iberia
- Finnair
- Lufthansa/Swiss
- JAL
- Air Canada
- Delta Air Lines
- Vietnam Airlines
- United Airlines
