The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says 2012 was the safest year ever for airline travel and it continues a trend that has made air travel by far the least hazardous way of moving around, except perhaps in Africa. IATA says there were a total of 75 airliner accidents in 2012, down from 92 in 2011. Of the 75 accidents, 15 involved fatalities, killing a total of 414 people. In 2011, 486 people died in 22 airline accidents. Africa remains the most dangerous place to fly in the world.
In Africa, the accident rate is actually on the increase and there were 13 accidents on the continent. IATA says African airlines that adopt the standards maintained by most of the rest of the world do well and none of them had an accident in 2012. "But the continent's overall performance is far from satisfactory. It should be as safe to travel by air in Africa as it is in any other part of the world," said IATA Director General and CEO Tony Tyler. Worldwide, more than three billion people flew safely on 37.5 million flights in 2012.
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