Air safety reached new high last year

AIR safety reached a new high last year with the fewest accidents involving Western-built jets, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) announced today.

• Overall accident rate fell to one in every 5 million flights, down 46 per cent on 2011

• 414 air deaths worldwide compared to 486 in 2011

• The death rate for Western jets however increased to 0.08 million passengers from 0.07 in 2011

It said the overall accident rate for aircraft such as Airbus and Boeing, which are used by most airlines operating in the UK, fell to one in every 5 million flights - down 46 per cent on 2011.

There were 414 air deaths worldwide compared to 486 in 2011, with 15 fatal accidents, down from 22.

However, the death rate for Western jets increased marginally to 0.08 per million passengers from 0.07 in 2011.

The news comes days after a new British rail safety milestone was passed - an unprecedented six years with no passengers killed on board trains.

By contrast, one person is killed on Britain’s roads around every five hours, although not all of these are in vehicles.

Iata director general Tony Tyler said: “The industry’s 2012 record safety performance was the best in history. Each day approximately 100,000 flights arrive safely at their destination. Airlines, airports, air navigation service providers, manufacturers and safety regulators work together to ensure every flight is as safe as possible.”