Blick evaluated the aviation figures of the last 55 years: Therefore, do not worry about malfunctions at Boeing

New decline in deaths last year

Here’s the thing: Flying is safer than ever. According to Aviation Safety Network data, 179 people died in plane crashes last year. A new decline! The previous record was broken in 2017 with 283 deaths.

For comparison: 180 passengers fit on the Airbus A320-200, Switzerland’s second largest aircraft on short- and medium-haul flights. And another comparison: According to the new 2023 traffic accident statistics from the Federal Statistical Office, 236 people died in traffic accidents on Swiss roads alone last year.

Many more passengers, many fewer deaths since 1970

The Aviation Safety Network collects civil, military and general aviation incidents into a database. Blick evaluated data on all deaths since 1970. Since then flying has become cheaper and therefore affordable to wider segments of the population. The result: Air travel safety has improved significantly over the last 50 years. In the 1970s, approximately 2,200 passengers lost their lives in accidents or hijackings.

That number has fallen every decade since then, falling to just over 300 deaths per year in the first four years of the 2020s. And this is despite the fact that passenger numbers have increased significantly over the last 50 years. Airlines carried more than 4.5 billion passengers worldwide in 2019, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization, the UN aviation agency. This is more than 14 times the number of people in 1970.

“Even small incidents are constantly investigated.”

Roman Boller (34), spokesman for the professional association of Swiss pilots, was not surprised by these figures: “The passenger plane is and remains the safest means of transport. Aviation is characterized by the fact that even smaller incidents are always investigated consistently and conclusions are drawn to further improve safety.” In addition, aircraft currently in flight are generally more reliable than their predecessors and are easier to operate in normal operation.

What about the broken Boeing 737 Max plane? According to Swiss pilot Boller, other factors play a bigger role than the aircraft model: “For me, it is not a matter of the aircraft type, but the issue of the airline and its employment conditions and the training of the cockpit crew.” The events showed that correct responses by well-trained pilots could prevent worse outcomes.

It is also worth noting that the two fatal crashes of the Boeing 737 Max in 2018 and 2019 did not occur in America, where the aircraft type is most frequently used. But in Indonesia and Ethiopia with local airlines. All Swiss customers who do not trust the Boeing 737 Max can breathe a sigh of relief: the Swiss airline does not have aircraft of this type in its fleet.