"Accident investigation reports must be complete, accessible, and timely," emphasized Walsh, director of the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC). Between 2020 and the first half of 2024, AFAC recorded 133 cases of loss of separation of commercial aircraft in Mexico, activating anti-collision alerts in aircraft used in regular passenger operations.
Most serious incidents occurred during the flight phase, with separations between aircraft less than one thousand feet, an industry-wide safety standard. The MAC-ACAS cases, alerts for loss of separation, increased in 2023, with 86 serious incidents recorded solely in commercial passenger aircraft.
Aviation professionals have warned about serious procedures and loss of separation in air operations, attributing it to various factors such as a lack of air traffic controllers and exhausting workdays of more than 14 hours.
Willie Walsh mentioned that despite the increase in air accidents driven by armed conflicts that resulted in 38 deaths in Central Asia, global air safety must improve. The lack of transparency in communicating the causes of accidents hinders their prevention.
In 2024, there were 40.6 million flights and seven fatal accidents, representing a slight increase compared to the previous year. Although air accidents had a greater impact, they were extremely rare compared to the volume of flights conducted globally. The evolution of air safety is characterized by continuous improvement.
IATA, which represents about 300 airlines, publishes an annual safety report evaluating accidents and incidents, as well as safety indices. In 2024, seven fatal air accidents were recorded with 244 deaths on board and seven additional on the ground or on another aircraft, marking a significant increase compared to the previous year.
