Data from September 2025.
Planned article update: October 2026.
Highlights
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Detailed data from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) show a good safety record for commercial air transport in the European Union over the past years. However, a single major accident, such as the one in July 2023, can seriously affect this generally positive image. Most fatalities are recorded in non-commercial operations.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is a European Union agency, governed by European public law. EASA has created standard requirements for regulating safety and promoting environmental sustainability in civil aviation. It collects detailed data on aviation incidents and accidents and performs in-depth safety-relevant analyses.
Most of the aviation accident fatalities concerned non-commercial operations
In its Annual Safety Review 2018, the EASA highlighted that 2017 was an exceptional year for global airline safety, with fewer fatalities than at any time in the industry's history (155 deaths). In the Annual Safety Review 2019, EASA reminded us that there is no room for complacency, following an increase observed in 2018: 189 persons in total died in aviation accidents on EU territory in 2018, involving EU-registered aircraft. As highlighted in EASA's Annual Safety Review 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges to every aspect of life and industry on earth. In particular, the air transport industry was severely impacted as a consequence of the restrictive measures taken by countries around the world to prevent the spread of the pandemic. The Annual Safety Review 2022 pointed out the risk to safety due to the reduced flying time of pilots over an extended period, the traffic in Europe in 2021 being back around 85% of 2019 levels. The Annual Safety Review 2023 confirmed this trend for 2022, with traffic levels at around 93% of the pre-pandemic levels, with the share rising to 95.5% in 2023, according to the Annual Safety Review 2024. The Annual Safety Review 2025 confirmed again this trend with the number of fatal accidents rising again to the level of the pre-COVID-19 pandemic in 2024.
In 2024, 91 fatalities were recorded in aviation accidents involving EU-registered aircraft and within the EU territory. However, fewer fatalities were recorded in 2024 compared with the previous year, as shown on Figure 1. In both 2023 and 2024, most fatalities were linked to accidents involving aeroplanes (83.5% of the total number of fatalities in 2023 and 81.3% in 2024). The accidents which occurred in 2024 included crashes of aeroplanes conducting non-commercial operations in France (18 victims), Spain (15 victims) and Italy (13 victims). All accidents in 2024 involving sailplanes occurred during non-commercial operations. The accident with the highest fatalities involved German-registered aircraft, in which 7 persons lost their lives. Half of the fatalities in helicopter accidents (in total operations) occurred in Spain (4 fatalities), involving a helicopter registered in that country.
Source: Eurostat, (tran_sf_aviavi)
In 2024, 91.2% of the fatalities recorded were related to non-commercial operations (see Figure 2). In all the previous years, this category also accounted for the majority of the fatalities, with the exception of 2015. In that year, crashes involving commercial air transport accounted for 58.7% of the fatalities, due to the accident of a German-registered aircraft in France (150 fatalities). Together with 2014 (when 82 persons were killed in non-commercial operations accidents), 2024 recorded the lowest number of fatalities with 83 persons losing their lives in non-commercial operations on EU territory.
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Source: Eurostat, (tran_sf_aviavi)
In 2024, the second category with the highest number of fatalities was specialised operations, which accounted for 5.5% of all fatalities in aviation accidents (5 persons killed). In comparison, there were 7 fatalities in 2023, 5 in 2022 and 11 in 2021. Specialised operations include activities such as agriculture, aerial advertisement, photography, and similar tasks. To complete the picture, fatalities in commercial air transport accounted for 3.3% of all fatalities in aviation accidents (3 persons killed), an increase compared with 2023, when no fatalities were recorded in this category.
No major accidents involving EU-registered aircraft were recorded in commercial air transport over the last 9 years
Figure 3 shows the number of persons killed in commercial air transport accidents involving EU-registered aircraft for the period 2014-2024. Information on whether the accident took place on EU territory or elsewhere in the world is also presented in the chart. From 2016 to 2024, no major accidents were recorded in commercial air transport. However, 2015 was marked by the German aircraft crash mentioned above and the accident on the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt) involving an Irish-registered aircraft on a charter flight (224 fatalities). In July 2014, an aircraft registered in Spain, but leased to an Algerian operator, crashed in Mali (116 fatalities).
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Source: Eurostat, (tran_sf_aviavi)
In addition to accidents involving EU-registered aircraft, there were also other fatal air transport accidents in EU airspace involving aircraft that were not registered in the EU. Figure 4 presents the number of fatalities in commercial air transport accidents since 2014 on EU territory, regardless of whether the aircraft involved were registered in an EU country or in another country. Thus, the information shown in Figure 4 includes the accident in France mentioned earlier. No other major accidents occurred on EU territory involving world-registered aircraft.
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Source: Eurostat, (tran_sf_aviavi)
There were 685 fatalities in aviation accidents involving EU-registered aircraft over the period 2020-2024
Table 1 presents the cumulated number of persons killed in aviation accidents over the period 2020-2024, by country of registration, area of occurrence (worldwide or in EU territory) and aircraft category. Worldwide, there were 635 fatalities in aviation accidents involving EU-registered aircraft, of which 525 occurred in aeroplane accidents. Over the same period, 85 persons were killed in sailplane accidents, 68 in helicopter accidents and 7 in balloon accidents involving EU-registered aircraft. Of all those killed worldwide, 495 fatalities from aeroplane accidents, 82 from sailplane accidents, 64 from helicopter accidents and 6 from balloon accidents occurred within EU territory. No fatalities were recorded in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) accidents over the period 2020-2024. However, it should be noted that data on UAS accidents have been collected only since 2023.
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Source: Eurostat, (tran_sf_aviavi)
During the period 2020-2024, no fatalities were recorded in accidents involving aircraft registered in Estonia, Ireland, Croatia, Luxembourg and Malta. Over the same period, less than 10 fatalities occurred in accidents involving aircraft registered in 12 other EU countries. The number of fatalities ranged between 10 and 50 in accidents involving aircraft registered in a further 7 countries. Most fatalities in aviation accidents during this period occurred in connection with aircraft registered in France and Germany (217 and 162 persons killed, respectively), followed by Italy with 73 fatalities. Among the EFTA countries, there were 40 fatalities in accidents involving aircraft registered in Switzerland and 12 involving aircraft registered in Norway.
Table 2 presents the cumulated number of persons killed in aviation accidents over the period 2020-2024, by country of occurrence and aircraft category, for all aircraft regardless of their country of registration.
Overall, 681 fatalities were recorded in air transport accidents that occurred within EU territory. Among these, 520 involved aeroplanes, 84 sailplanes, 70 helicopters, 6 balloons and 1 UAS. For helicopters, sailplanes, balloons and UAS, accidents often occur in the country where the aircraft is registered, as they mainly concern domestic flights. However, for aeroplanes, differences between the country of registration and the country of occurrence of the accident can be higher.
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Source: Eurostat, (tran_sf_aviavi)
In the period 2020-2024, no fatalities were recorded in Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg and Malta. Over the same period, there were less than 10 fatalities in 10 other EU Member States. The number of fatalities ranged between 10 and 50 in 9 additional Member States. Most fatalities in aviation accidents occurred in France and Germany (205 and 113 fatalities, respectively) between 2020 and 2024. When looking at aeroplanes, France registered the highest number of fatalities over the same period (175 persons killed).
The number of persons seriously injured in commercial air transport accidents doubled in 2024
While fatalities highlight the most severe outcomes of aviation accidents, injuries (whether serious or slight) provide additional insight into the broader aviation safety picture. In 2024, the aviation accidents involving EU-registered aircraft resulted in 214 persons being seriously or slightly injured, representing a slight decrease compared with 2023 (229 persons) as shown in Figure 5. By aircraft category, the number of persons seriously or slightly injured in accidents involving EU-registered sailplanes almost doubled between 2023 and 2024 (23 and 41 injuries, respectively). Accidents involving EU-registered aeroplanes accounted for 60.3% of all persons injured in 2024 (129 persons injured), making this the category with the highest number of injuries. No persons were reported seriously or slightly injured in EU-registered UAS accidents in either 2023 or 2024.
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Source: Eurostat, (tran_sf_aviavi)
When focusing on commercial air transport accidents over the period 2014-2024 (see Figure 6), the total number of persons injured has been increasing since 2019 (from 19 in 2019 to 63 in 2024). This rise is mainly due to the growing number of persons slightly injured, which went up from 2 in 2020 to 37 in 2023 and 36 in 2024. These high figures for slight injuries are due to an accident in Spain in 2023, which resulted in 27 persons being slightly injured, and to accidents in Spain (10 persons slightly injured) and Italy (12 persons slightly injured) in 2024. Despite these increases, the number of persons seriously injured decreased to 12 in 2023, but rose again to 27 in 2024, mainly due to an accident in Lithuania in which 10 persons were seriously injured.
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Source: Eurostat, (tran_sf_aviavi)
Aeroplanes were the aircraft type most frequently involved in accidents in 2024
Table 3 presents the number of accidents involving world-registered aircraft by country of occurrence and aircraft category in 2024. In total, 533 air transport accidents were reported in the EU, with aeroplanes accounting for the largest share (321), ahead of sailplanes (127) and helicopters (64). In 2024, 14 balloon accidents and 7 UAS accidents were also recorded.
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Source: Eurostat, (tran_sf_aviaac)
In 2024, no aviation accidents were recorded in Cyprus, Latvia, Luxembourg and Malta. Less than 10 accidents occurred in 10 other EU countries, while in another 10 EU countries the number of accidents ranged between 10 and 50. Most accidents involving aircraft registered worldwide took place in France, Germany, and Spain, with 124, 113, and 59 accidents, respectively. Among aeroplanes specifically, France recorded the highest number of accidents, with 100 accidents.
Source data for tables and graphs
Data sources
In May 2025, an updated administrative arrangement between Eurostat and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) was signed regarding the technical cooperation in the field of air transport safety statistics.
The data presented in this article stem from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The EASA is an agency of the European Union that is governed by European public law and establishes common requirements for the regulation of safety and environmental sustainability in civil aviation. EASA was set up by a Council and Parliament Regulation (EC) 1592/2002 repealed by Regulation (EU) 2018/1139. The EASA collects detailed data on aviation incidents and accidents and performs detailed safety-relevant analyses as far as possible. The agreement between EASA and Eurostat allows for the dissemination of selected statistical data through Eurostat's dissemination database.
All data displayed in this article are annual, with available time series going back to 2014. Data for 2022, 2023 and 2024 should be considered provisional, as accident investigations may still be ongoing. The conclusions of the final investigation reports might therefore slightly alter the data.
Data are collected by EASA under the frame of the Commission Regulation (EU) No 965/2012. The so-called 'Air Ops Regulation' contains provisions for the following types of air operations with aeroplanes and helicopters:
- commercial air transport (CAT) operations,
- non-commercial operations with complex motor-powered aircraft (NCC),
- non-commercial operations with other-than complex motor-powered aircraft (NCO), and
- specialised operations (e.g. aerial work), both commercial and non-commercial (SPO).
The Air Ops Regulation is applicable to all the EU Member States and to all operators of aeroplanes and helicopters which have their principal place of business, are established or reside in an EU Member State. More information about Air Operations are available on EASA website.
Accidents are defined as follow in Regulation (EU) No 996/2010: an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which, in the case of a manned aircraft, takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight until such time as all such persons have disembarked, or in the case of an unmanned aircraft, takes place between the time the aircraft is ready to move with the purpose of flight until such time it comes to rest at the end of the flight and the primary propulsion system is shut down, in which:
- a person is fatally or seriously injured as a result of:
- being in the aircraft, or,
- direct contact with any part of the aircraft, including parts which have become detached from the aircraft, or,
- direct exposure to jet blast
except when the injuries are from natural causes, self-inflicted or inflicted by other persons, or when the injuries are to stowaways hiding outside the areas normally available to the passengers and crew; or
- the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure which adversely affects the structural strength, performance or flight characteristics of the aircraft, and would normally require major repair or replacement of the affected component, except for engine failure or damage, when the damage is limited to a single engine, (including its cowlings or accessories), to propellers, wing tips, antennas, probes, vanes, tires, brakes, wheels, fairings, panels, landing gear doors, windscreens, the aircraft skin (such as small dents or puncture holes) or minor damages to main rotor blades, tail rotor blades, landing gear, and those resulting from hail or bird strike, (including holes in the radome); or
- the aircraft is missing or is completely inaccessible.
Context
The implementation of the Single European Sky (various legislative packages, 2004-2024) resulted in a considerable increase in air traffic and the number of air carriers. Aviation safety in the European Union is based on close cooperation between the European Commission, the EASA, Eurocontrol and the national civil aviation authorities, but also with aircraft manufacturers, airlines, and, considering the inherently international nature of air transport, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The backbone of this cooperation is a set of common safety rules, directly applicable in a uniform manner across the EU. Safety checks are performed at European airports on a random basis, but with particular attention to companies which have previously shown safety deficiencies. This can lead to restrictions or even the banning of non-compliant air carriers from flying to Europe.
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Legislation
- Regulation (EC) No 2018/1139 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Union Aviation Safety Agency
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 965/2012 laying down technical requirements and administrative procedures related to air operations pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council
- Regulation (EU) No 996/2010 on the investigation and prevention of accidents and incidents in civil aviation