New study shows This is how dangerous traveling by plane really is
A recent study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) shows that air travel is safer than ever worldwide. The research confirms that the risk of death during a flight is continuously decreasing.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The probability of dying on a flight is falling by around 7 percent every year.
- Between 2018 and 2022, the risk of dying in commercial air travel was 1 per 13.7 million passengers worldwide.
- Flight safety is particularly high in countries such as the USA and Switzerland.
- The positive developments are based on extensive data from organizations such as the Flight Safety Foundation and the World Bank.
Many people feel uneasy when flying, especially when the plane shakes or unfamiliar noises are heard. In fact, an estimated 10 to 40 percent of the population suffers from a fear of flying, according to a study published in the journal "Frontiers in Psychology".
But there is good news: A new study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on the subject of flight safety gives the all-clear. According to the results, flying is becoming safer worldwide.
"You might think there is an irreducible level of risk that we can't get below," explains Arnold Barnett, an expert in aviation safety and operations and co-author of the study in "20 Minuten".
"And yet the probability of dying during a flight is falling by around 7 percent every year and decreases by a factor of two every ten years."
Flight safety thanks to constant innovation
The study, which was published in the "Journal of Air Transport Management", actually shows impressive figures: The risk of dying in commercial air travel was 1 per 13.7 million passengers worldwide between 2018 and 2022.
This represents a decrease from 1 per 7.9 million passengers in the years 2008 to 2017 and marks a significant improvement compared to 1 per 350,000 passengers in the years 1968 to 1977.
In short, flying has become almost twice as safe every decade since the late 1960s. The researchers see the reason for this development in the constant innovations that contribute to improving flight safety.
For comparison: in 2023, there were 18,254 accidents with personal injury on Swiss roads. In the process, 236 people were killed.
Swiss airline is particularly safe
Extensive data from the Flight Safety Foundation, the World Bank and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) was analyzed for the study.
Another interesting finding of the study is the geographical distribution of flight safety. In some parts of the world, particularly in the United States, the EU and other European countries such as Switzerland, flying is particularly safe.
