Africa recorded its worst-performing year for air safety in relative terms compared to every other region in 2025, even as its overall accident rate fell sharply, according to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) 2025 Annual Safety Report released on Monday in Geneva.
The continent recorded seven accidents in 2025, bringing its all-accident rate down from 12.13 per million sectors in 2024 to 7.86 in 2025, below Africa’s own five-year average of 9.37. Despite that improvement, the region retained the highest accident rate of any part of the world. Fatality risk on African-registered carriers rose from zero in 2024 to 2.19 in 2025, reversing two consecutive years of zero fatalities, and turboprop aircraft remained the dominant safety concern, accounting for 71% of accidents involving African-based operators.
The report also flagged a persistent problem with accident investigation. Of all investigations conducted between 2019 and 2023, Africa completed and published only 19% of its reports in line with its obligations under Annex 13 of the Chicago Convention, the lowest rate of any region in the world and far below the global average of 63%. IATA noted that the African region accounts for the majority of “other end state” accident classifications, where events cannot be properly categorised due to insufficient information, directly linked to incomplete investigations.
“Accident investigation helps us improve safety, but many reports are not published in a timely, complete, or accessible way,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh. “Annex 13 of the Chicago Convention is clear about state obligations. Anything less than 100% shortchanges everyone on opportunities to improve.”
Globally, 2025 was a year of mixed results. There were 51 accidents across 38.7 million commercial flights, producing an all-accident rate of 1.32 per million flights, better than the 1.42 recorded in 2024 but marginally above the five-year average of 1.27. Eight fatal accidents resulted in 394 onboard fatalities, significantly higher than both the 244 fatalities in 2024 and the five-year average of 198. Two crashes dominated the fatality count: the Air India Flight 171 accident, which killed 241 people, and the PSA Airlines Flight 5342 crash, which claimed 64 lives, together accounting for more than 77% of all onboard deaths in 2025.
Against that sobering picture, Walsh pointed to a decade-long trend that he said must not be obscured. A decade ago, the rate for fatal accidents stood at one per every 3.5 million flights. Today it stands at one per every 5.6 million flights. “Flying is so safe that even one accident among the nearly 40 million flights operated annually moves the global data. Every accident is, of course, one too many,” he said.
The report also highlighted two growing systemic threats. Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) interference, which can mislead aircraft navigation systems, continued its sharp rise, with reported jamming events in 2025 up 67% compared to 2023 and spoofing incidents up 193%. The proliferation of conflict zones was also flagged, with IATA drawing direct attention to the disruption caused by the ongoing war between the United States, Israel, and Iran, which has forced widespread rerouting and airspace closures. Walsh called on governments to share risk information promptly, restrict airspace where necessary, and ensure that decisions on closing or reopening airspace remain driven by safety and security criteria rather than political considerations.
Airlines that carry the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification continued to outperform peers significantly, recording an all-accident rate of 0.98 compared to 2.55 for non-IOSA carriers.
IATA’s 2026 Focus Africa Conference, scheduled for 29 and 30 April in Addis Ababa, will centre on elevating aviation safety, connectivity, and operational efficiency across the continent, bringing together ministers, airline executives, and regulators to address the challenges highlighted in Monday’s report.
