According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Africa has reached a notable milestone with no fatal air travel accidents for three consecutive years (2021-2023).

IATA reported in its Annual Safety Report for global aviation, that Africa achieved its fifth consecutive year without any fatal turboprop accidents in 2023. Furthermore, the overall accident rate witnessed a significant decline from 10.88 per million in 2022 to 6.38 in 2023, surpassing the average of 7.11 over the past five years.

IATA’s study also emphasizes the achievements of the African aviation industry in implementing enhanced safety measures, resulting in no deaths and zero occurrences of jet hull losses or fatal accidents since 2020.

According to Willie Walsh, the Director General of IATA, the safety performance in 2023 reaffirms that flying remains the safest mode of transportation. Mr. Walsh emphasized that safety is the top priority for aviation, and the positive results of 2023 reflect this commitment.

IATA has implemented the Continuous Aviation Safety Improvement Program (CASIP) as part of the Focus Africa initiative. The program aims to strengthen aviation safety in Africa by working collaboratively with states to enhance the implementation of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs).

The new threshold for implementing minimum SARPs has been raised to 75% or higher, a significant increase from the previous requirement of 60%. Nevertheless, only 12 of the 54 African states currently satisfy this higher threshold.

In 2023, there was a global registration of 37 million flights, encompassing both jet and turboprop aircraft. This marked a 17% growth compared to the previous year, 2022.

Meanwhile, according to another report, South Africa leads in the number of air passengers transported, with over 25 million passengers traveling by air annually. The top 10 also includes Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Mauritius.

Another recently published report identified South Africa being at the forefront when it comes to the number of air passengers transported, with over 25 million passengers traveling by air each year. Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Mauritius also feature in the top 10 countries in terms of air passengers.