ICAO released its latest Aviation Safety Report on 23 July 2026 in Montréal. The report reviews global commercial aviation safety performance across 2025. It draws on data from flights involving aircraft with a maximum take-off mass over 5,700 kg. Airlines carried nearly 5 billion passengers in 2025, the highest figure on record. This came alongside fewer total accidents compared to the previous year.
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Fewer Accidents in 2025, But More Lives Lost
The ICAO Aviation Safety Report reveals a striking contrast within its 2025 findings. Accidents fell from 95 in 2024 to 85 in 2025. Yet total fatalities rose sharply, climbing from 296 to 387 over the same period. A single catastrophic accident alone caused 260 deaths during the year. This one event heavily skewed the overall fatality total for 2025. ICAO Council President Toshiyuki Onuma called the findings a reminder of aviation’s ongoing challenge. He noted that rare, high-casualty events remain difficult to eliminate entirely.
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Five High-Risk Categories Drive Fatal Accidents
ICAO identifies five Global High-Risk Categories that historically cause the most fatalities. These include controlled flight into terrain, loss of control in flight and mid-air collision. Runway Excursion and Runway Incursion complete the list of priority categories. Together, these five categories caused more than half of all fatal accidents in 2025. Loss of Control in flight remained the single biggest concern within this group. It accounted for nearly a third of fatal accidents among high-risk categories. A lone controlled flight into terrain accident caused over 10 per cent of global fatalities. This underlines how infrequent but catastrophic such accidents tend to be. Mid-air collisions proved especially lethal despite their overall rarity in 2025. Four such accidents accounted for nearly 15 per cent of all fatalities worldwide. Growing air traffic and new entrants like drones will keep collision risk high. ICAO expects this category to remain a critical global safety priority going forward.
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Runway Safety Shows Encouraging Progress
No runway incursion accidents involving commercial aircraft occurred anywhere in 2025. This reflects sustained investment in airport procedures, technology and pilot awareness. However, seven runway excursion accidents still occurred across the year. One of these excursions resulted in fatal injuries, showing continued room for improvement.
Oversight Gaps Remain Across Member States
Global safety oversight performance improved in 2025, with average scores reaching 698.8 per cent. More states also met ICAO’s target level of safety oversight this year. Still, ICAO identified persistent weaknesses across several critical regulatory areas. States struggle most with resolving safety issues once they are identified. Maintaining enough qualified technical personnel also remains a widespread challenge. Conducting effective ongoing surveillance and inspections rounds out the key gaps. ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar stressed the value of data-driven action. He confirmed ICAO’s commitment to targeted capacity building and technical assistance for states.
Working Towards Zero Fatalities
ICAO’s Strategic Plan aspires to zero fatalities across international aviation by design. The organisation will continue supporting Member States through structured reporting and monitoring. This ongoing cycle helps states refine both national and regional safety plans. Through continuous analysis and action, ICAO aims to close the gap to zero.
