ICAO Safety Report 2025 Edition — Quick Notes (Last-Minute Review)

Executive Summary

• 2024 safety overview metrics:
  • Passengers: $4.528\,$billion; Flights: $37.09\,$million.
  • Global accident rate: $2.56\,$accidents per million departures.
  • Fatalities: $296\,$Fatal accidents: $10\,$Accidents: $95\,$Serious injuries: 134\,.
  • Fatality rate: 65\,fatalities per billion passengers.
  • 2024 vs 2023: accidents +43.9\%\$, rate +36.8\%\$; but both metrics remain below pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
• Traffic recovery context:
  • 2024 passenger volumes (~4.528B) approached or exceeded pre-pandemic levels; departures near 2019 levels.
• Regional fatalities (2024):
  • Asia and Pacific (APAC): 3 fatal accidents, 185 fatalities.
  • Europe & North Atlantic (EUR/NAT): 3 fatal accidents, 40 fatalities.
  • Middle East (MID): 1 fatal accident, 1 fatality.
  • North America, Central America & Caribbean (NACC): 1 fatal accident, 6 fatalities.
  • South America (SAM): 1 fatal accident, 62 fatalities.
  • Eastern and Southern Africa (ESAF): 1 fatal accident, 2 fatalities.
  • Western & Central Africa (WACAF): 0 fatal accidents.

Milestones and Context

• 80th anniversary of Chicago Convention (7 Dec 2024).
• 2026–2050 Strategic Plan launched; 42nd ICAO Assembly in Sept–Oct 2025.
• Special edition safety report: State of Global Aviation Safety (2025 edition).

Global Safety Initiatives

• Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Radio Frequency Interference (RFI)
  • GNSS vulnerabilities: jamming and spoofing; civil signals unencrypted and unauthenticated.
  • Actions: Resolution 41-8/C (GNSS resilience) and AN-Conf/14 (2024) recommendations; ITU-ICAO-IMO joint actions (Mar 2025).
  • Short-term: mitigation; long-term: GNSS data authentication; alternative navigation concepts (A-PNT); preserve conventional aids.
• Civil-military Cooperation in Aviation
  • Civil-military cooperation enhances safety, ATM capacity, and airspace optimization.
  • Key framework: Manual on Civil-Military Cooperation in Air Traffic Management (Doc 10088, 2021).
  • Flexible Use of Airspace (FUA) to improve efficiency; supports conflict zones and humanitarian ops; enables future UAS/AAM integration.
• Evolution of Aeronautical Meteorological Service to Enhance Safety Against Turbulence Encounters
  • Upgrades to weather information: higher-resolution WAFS forecasts; new HWIS concept; SWIM-enabled data sharing.
  • Next-gen WAFC outputs will include turbulence likelihood (clear-air and mountain-induced).
  • Enhanced turbulence forecasting supports flight planning and ATFM/ATM decisions.

Safe Integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) / Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)

• RPAS regulatory framework: Part IV – International Operations – Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (Annex 6) adopted in 2024; RPAS Operator Certificate (ROC) required; C2 links, DAA, and ATM/UTM integration under development.
• RPASP (RPAS Panel) expanding SARPs, procedures, and guidance for international operations; 26th RPASP meeting (Mar 2025).
• UAS Traffic Management (UTM) development under ICAO UTM framework; AAM Study Group (AAM SG) scaling interoperability; 2024 AAM Symposium and global Call to Action for collaboration.

Runway Safety

• Runway Safety improvements continue; Second Edition of Global Runway Safety Action Plan (GRSAP) published.
• Supporting plans: Global Action Plan for Runway Excursions (GAPPRE) and Runway Incursions (GAPPRI).
• Annex 14 – Aerodrome design/operations updates include Runway Distance Remaining Signs (RDRS).

Health Promotion and Mental Wellbeing in Aviation Safety

• ICAO Mental Health Working Group (MHWG) progressing since the Germanwings accident.
• New Manual of Health Promotion and Mental Wellbeing in Aviation Personnel (scheduled for 2025).
• Ongoing enhancements to aviation medical risk management; integration with Safety Management Principles; peer support and data-driven health initiatives.

Timely Publication of Accident Investigation Final Reports

• Annex 13 requirements: Final reports publicly available within 12 months when possible; reports to ICAO central e-Library.
• 2017–2022: average time to publish Final Reports ≈ 20\,months$; 2024:$76\% of Final Reports published for investigations 2017–2022.
• Emphasis on timely dissemination to support safety actions and lessons learned.

ICAO Accident/Incident Data Reporting (ADREP) System

• ADREP history: started in 1970s; taxonomy updated to ADREP2000; cloud-based ECCAIRS 2 now in use.
• Data scope: records of accidents/incidents for MTOW > 5700\text{ kg}; ~45,000 records; OVSG validates data using ADREP taxonomy.
• Purpose: support safety trend analysis, GASP targets, and data-driven decision-making; data accessible to States for prevention.

Wildlife Strikes Reporting

• IBIS data increased robustness (66% of States nominated IBIS focal points); 273,000 wildlife strike reports (2016–2021 period analyzed).
• 74% of wildlife strikes occur on or near aerodromes; 24% during take-off; 46% during approach/landing.
• ICAO modernizing data practices and updating IBIS guidance; new IBIS edition (Doc 9332) forthcoming.

Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS)

• 2014–2024: progress on flight tracking and distress response; Location of an Aircraft in Distress Repository (LADR) and OPS CTRL now operational.
• As of 2025-01-01, all new aircraft equipped to transmit distress location every minute or less; distress data shared via EUROCONTROL-hosted platform.
• GADSS aims to improve tracking, distress identification, response coordination, and data retrieval for safety analysis.

Safety Management Capacity Building and Data-Driven Oversight

• Safety Management Implementation Package (iPack) launched in 2024 to support States with SSP implementation; dedicated SME support (20 workdays).
• Safety Intelligence and Safety Performance Management Workshops (2023–2024) to build data governance, indicators, and monitoring capabilities.
• Annex 19 Amendment 2 and Safety Intelligence Manual (Doc 10159) provide enhanced guidance on safety data, information exchange, and analytics.
• Safety Management Implementation (SMI) website hosts practical examples and tools (Doc 9859 era; updates ongoing).

Regional Cooperation in Aviation Safety

• RSOO/RAIO cooperative platforms enable peer support among 14 RSOOs and 6 RAIOs (≈150 States).
• RSOO/RAIO Assessments; USOAP CMA standardization; guidance material updates (e.g., Safety Oversight Manual, Doc 9734).
• Global events (RSOO Forum 2023 @ Nairobi; Aviation Safety Symposium 2024 @ Abu Dhabi) to foster collaboration.

Regional Safety and Monitoring Overview

• USOAP CMA: 2024 global EI average 68.67\%$; number of States achieving the 2023–2025 EI target (75$45\% in 2024.
• Eight CE areas (CE-1 to CE-8) and eight audit areas (LEG, ORG, PEL, OPS, AIR, AIG, ANS, AGA) show varying EI performance, with CE-1 (primary legislation) at 75\%\$ global target achievement; CE-4 and CE-5 below targets historically.

Regional Initiatives (Summary by ICAO Region)

• APAC: Accident rate trend downward (2023 rate $1.87\,$/per million departed), RASG-APAC rate $0.78\,$/per million; capacity-building through CAT missions; 85 GSI-trained Government Safety Inspectors; aerodrome certification ~$91.35\%$ international airports certified as of 2025-03-19.
• ESAF: EI $61.6\%$ in 2024; five SSCs resolved; ROST technical assistance; ongoing SSP development.
• EUR/NAT: USOAP CMA EI ~$68.67\%$ in 2024; CE-1 achievement at or above 75%; LEG and AIR above 75% targets; ongoing improvements.
• MID: Departures $1.40\,$million; 2 accidents; rate 1.43\$/million; 1 fatal accident; 1 fatality.
• NACC: Departures 11.10\,$million; 37 accidents; rate$3.33\$/million; 1 fatal accident; 6 fatalities.
• SAM: Departures $1.95\,$million; 6 accidents; rate 3.08\$/million; 1 fatal accident; 62 fatalities.
• WACAF: Departures 0.26\,$million; 2 accidents; rate$7.62\$/million; 0 fatal; ongoing SSP actions.

Appendix (Reference Tools)

• ICAO Regions and regional offices: APAC, ESAF, EUR/NAT, MID, NACC, SAM, WACAF.
• ADREP taxonomy and SAFETY data governance resources referenced in USOAP CMA reports.
• Note: Appendix materials (e.g., Appendix 2 list of 2024 accidents; Appendix 3 CICTT categories) provide granular data for in-depth study.

Quick Takeaways for Exam Preparation

• Global trend: 2024 saw higher accidents and fatalities than 2023, but overall safety indicators remained below or near pre-pandemic levels; traffic rebounded strongly.
• Core safety priorities (G-HRCs): CFIT, LOC-I, MAC, RE, RI continue to be focus areas for reductions in fatalities.
• Key enablers: standardized SARPs, data-driven safety management (SMS/SAP), SSP and USOAP CMA improvements, and robust data systems (ADREP, IBIS, GADSS).
• Emerging frontiers: GNSS resilience, UAS/AAM integration, civil-military cooperation, and advanced meteorological services to mitigate turbulence and weather-related safety risks.