World: The International Civil Aviation Organisation said on Wednesday that air passenger traffic growth in the Asia-Pacific is expected to exceed the global average over the next 5-10 years, but it is important to focus on safety and sustainability in the region. “The Asia-Pacific aviation sector has shown remarkable resilience despite facing the challenges of the global pandemic. The region has emerged stronger and more adaptable.
Safety measures must keep pace with the region’s growing aviation sector,” ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano said at the second ICAO Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference in New Delhi. ICAO last month said aviation safety continues to improve despite the operational challenges of recovering from the pandemic. The organisation’s safety report for scheduled commercial air travel shows fatalities are projected to decline to 17 fatalities per billion passengers in 2023 from 50 fatalities per billion passengers in 2022. The global accident rate fell from 2.05 in 2022 to 1.87 accidents per million departures in 2023. “At the start of 2024, traffic in Asia-Pacific was 2% higher than 2019 figures. More interestingly, the growth rate is projected to be 9% per year over the next five years, while the global average rate will be around 6%,” Sciacchitano said.
