2023 is on record as the second safest year for air travel since records began.
Air travel is incredibly safe compared to other forms of transport but if you're wondering which seats are safer in case of emergency and how to ensure your safety on an airplane, the answer is clear—it depends on the type of emergency but studies show it's usually safer in the middle or at the rear of an aircraft.
Is Air Travel Safe?
2023 was the second safest year on record for airline safety as shown by all the airline incidents recorded last year on the Aviation Safety Network database. According to this database, out of 35 million flights, there were 1213 serious incidents, 134 accidents, 5 fatal accidents and 105 deaths. As reported by airlineratings.com, the average over the past five years is 13 accidents each year and 300 deaths.
In research conducted throughout this century, plane travel consistently ranks highly as a safer form of travel, compared to the car, for instance. A Washington Post study found that there are 7.28 deaths for every billion passenger miles in a car—by far the most of any public transport. Then comes the ferry (3.17 deaths per billion miles), train (0.43), subway (0.24), bus (0.11) and plane with 0.07 deaths per billion passenger miles. Similar studies have come to similar conclusions: Commercial air is one of the safest ways to travel long distance.
There are also variations on safety across different types of transport depending on where you are in the world. Train travel safety numbers are considerably better than they were in the 1970s but one study found you're 58 times as likely to get injured if traveling on Amtrak in the U.S. than via a train in France, for instance.
Likewise, it depends on the airline you fly with. A 2020 MIT study found considerable regional variations across airlines, with the lowest risk airlines based in the U.S., EU countries, China, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Israel. Over the past few decades, the study noted that the rate of fatalities declined more quickly than the public's fears about flying.
So if you are afraid of flying it might assuage your fears if you choose an airline that consistently ranks highly in the annual list of the safest airlines in the world by airlineratings.com. It's worth noting that the margin between these top 25 are quite small but that said, Air New Zealand currently holds first place as the safest airline, followed by Qantas, Virgin Australia, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. The top 5 safest low-cost airlines for 2024 are Jetstar, easyJet, Ryanair, Wizz and Norwegian.
Which Is Safer—Front, Middle Or Back Of A Plane?
When we book our plane seats, quite often we're just thinking about how easy it will be to get on and off the plane or maybe our level of comfort. Research shows though, that some areas on an airplane are safer than others and it's one of the few advantages of paying less for your seat.
When the National Transportation Safety Board in the U.S. investigated 20 crashes since 1971 (with fatalities and survivors) it found that those sitting at the back of the plane had a 69% chance of staying alive, while those at the front of the plane had only a 49% chance. Passengers placed around the wing of the plane had a 59% chance.
Which Is Safer—Window, Middle Or Aisle Of A Plane?
A Time study of the Federal Aviation Administration’s CSRTG Aircraft Accident Database in the U.S. analyzed data from crashes where there were both fatalities and survivors from 1985 to 2000. Its findings agreed that the rear of the aircraft appeared safer in that it yielded a greater chance of survival and it was also beneficial to be in the middle seat.
People sitting in the middle seats at the rear of the aircraft had a 28% fatality rate and the least safe were aisle seats in the middle third of the cabin (44% fatality rate). As CNN points out, the middle seats are safer because passengers are buffered by the people sitting on either side of them.
Does The "Safety Of A Seat" Depend On The Emergency At Hand?
So while it's statistically more likely that you would survive if sitting in the middle seat at the rear of the aircraft, it obviously depends on the kind of crash that takes place and where the plane takes the brunt of an impact. In the 1989 United Flight 232 crash in Sioux City, Iowa, the 184 people (out of 269) that survived where sitting further forward in the plane. CNN says that crashing into a mountain or nose-first into the ocean will also decrease the chances of survival.
The Time study found that survival was random in several accidents in that the people who lost their lives were dotted amongst the survivors. It's the reason that the FAA believes that there is no such thing as a safer seat on an airplane.
How Can Travellers Ensure Their Safety On An Airplane?
If you want to feel reassured that you've done everything you can to stay as safe as possible onboard an airplane, the best thing you can do is watch the safety videos, make a note of exit door locations, wear clothes that enable you to move quickly, stay away from alcoholic drinks and most of all, do not take anything with you if you have to leave a plane in a hurry.
How Likely Is It That An Emergency Will Take Place On A Plane?
It's highly unlikely that the plane you are in will suffer an emergency of any sort—planes undergo strict tests and regulations and once an issue emerges in one type of aircraft, they will be recalled if necessary.
Remember that air travel is incredibly safe—pilots are well trained, will find places to land, and air travel is always significantly less risky than other kinds of transport—your risk of dying as a pedestrian are even much higher than a car, never mind if you hop on a motorbike.
