Fears Asia-Pacific aviation boom could outpace capacity to keep passengers safe
In 2023, the aviation industry had just achieved a historic milestone: its safest year on record. But by the end of the following year, disaster struck. On Christmas Day 2024, an Azerbaijan Airlines plane was downed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. Several days later, on December 29, came the Jeju Air crash in South Korea, which claimed 179 lives. While air travel is still statistically the safest mode of transport, the International Air Transport Association's latest annual safety report saw the global fatality risk double from 0.03 in 2023 to 0.06 in 2024. Global aviation fatalities more than tripled, rising from 72 in 2023 to 244 in 2024, marking the deadliest year in six years. This number does not include accidents in conflict zones, such as the Azerbaijan Airlines crash. "Even with recent high profile aviation accidents, it is important to remember that accidents are extremely rare," said Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). But with the Asia-Pacific region set to dominate the future of global air travel, experts say the industry will have to overcome challenges like staff shortages and congested airports to ensure strict safety standards are upheld. Powerhouse markets such as China, India and Vietnam were fuelling a post-pandemic travel boom, especially among the Asia-Pacific's rising middle class, said the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) director-general Subhas Menon. "Unlike in other regions, people here need to fly for business, to visit family, and for economic opportunities more regularly," said Menon, who worked at Singapore Airlines for more than 30 years. "Asia-Pacific aviation has been growing strongly for a very long time, but it got a major boost when China opened up," he said. "Today, China is the second-largest aviation market in the world after the US." By the end of 2024, passenger demand in the Asia-Pacific region grew by 26% year-on-year, according to IATA, but remained 8.7% below 2019 levels, indicating that full recovery had yet to be achieved. Qantas and Air New Zealand last month rejoined AAPA, ending a long period without South Pacific airline representation in the organisation. Story has more.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2025-03-03/general/fears-asia-pacific-aviation-boom-could-outpace-capacity-to-keep-passengers-safe
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Fears Asia-Pacific aviation boom could outpace capacity to keep passengers safe
In 2023, the aviation industry had just achieved a historic milestone: its safest year on record. But by the end of the following year, disaster struck. On Christmas Day 2024, an Azerbaijan Airlines plane was downed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. Several days later, on December 29, came the Jeju Air crash in South Korea, which claimed 179 lives. While air travel is still statistically the safest mode of transport, the International Air Transport Association's latest annual safety report saw the global fatality risk double from 0.03 in 2023 to 0.06 in 2024. Global aviation fatalities more than tripled, rising from 72 in 2023 to 244 in 2024, marking the deadliest year in six years. This number does not include accidents in conflict zones, such as the Azerbaijan Airlines crash. "Even with recent high profile aviation accidents, it is important to remember that accidents are extremely rare," said Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). But with the Asia-Pacific region set to dominate the future of global air travel, experts say the industry will have to overcome challenges like staff shortages and congested airports to ensure strict safety standards are upheld. Powerhouse markets such as China, India and Vietnam were fuelling a post-pandemic travel boom, especially among the Asia-Pacific's rising middle class, said the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) director-general Subhas Menon. "Unlike in other regions, people here need to fly for business, to visit family, and for economic opportunities more regularly," said Menon, who worked at Singapore Airlines for more than 30 years. "Asia-Pacific aviation has been growing strongly for a very long time, but it got a major boost when China opened up," he said. "Today, China is the second-largest aviation market in the world after the US." By the end of 2024, passenger demand in the Asia-Pacific region grew by 26% year-on-year, according to IATA, but remained 8.7% below 2019 levels, indicating that full recovery had yet to be achieved. Qantas and Air New Zealand last month rejoined AAPA, ending a long period without South Pacific airline representation in the organisation. Story has more.<br/>
