IATA Calls for Stronger Integration of People, Technology and Standards to Improve Aviation Safety | By Joojo Maapa
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is calling for closer integration of people, technology and global standards to deliver the next advances in aviation safety, warning that stronger performance will depend less on new rules and more on how existing systems work together.
Speaking at the opening of the IATA World Safety and Operations Conference 2026 in Istanbul, IATA Director of Safety Mark Searle said aviation safety had improved significantly over the past decade, with fatal accident rates declining from one accident per 3.5 million flights to one per 5.6 million.
However, he noted that 394 lives were lost in aviation accidents in 2025, underscoring the need for continued improvements.
“The next advance in safety will come from people, technology, and standards working together better as one resilient system,” Searle said.
On the people side, IATA highlighted the need to preserve decades of operational knowledge as a new generation of digitally skilled aviation professionals enters the industry.
It identified structured mentoring, training and succession planning as critical to transferring expertise, while also encouraging aviation organisations to combine the experience of established professionals with the digital and artificial intelligence capabilities of younger workers.
IATA also stressed the importance of maintaining a strong safety culture where employees can report errors, hazards and near misses without fear of punishment, allowing the industry to learn from mistakes before they become accidents.
On technology, the association said artificial intelligence and other innovations should ultimately strengthen decision-making and improve the ability of safety professionals to identify risks earlier. But operations must remain safe when technology is unavailable, compromised or provides inaccurate information.
The increase in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) interference, IATA said, reinforces the need for technological redundancy, robust procedures, effective training and human judgment.
On global standards, IATA argued that the next major improvement in safety is unlikely to come from simply creating more regulations.
Instead, Searle said greater attention should be placed on ensuring existing standards are understood, consistently implemented and effectively overseen worldwide.
IATA called for stronger implementation and oversight, improved State compliance with international obligations—particularly conflict-zone risk information and accident reporting—and regular updating of standards to reflect technological and operational changes.
The association said the three elements must reinforce one another because weakness in any one of them can reduce the resilience of the entire aviation safety system.
IATA Calls for Stronger Integration of People, Technology and Standards to Improve Aviation Safety | AviationGhana
