The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called for stronger integration of people, technology and global standards to drive the next advances in aviation safety, as the industry prepares for a new generation of operational and technological challenges.

Speaking at the opening of the IATA World Safety and Operations Conference 2026 in Istanbul, IATA Director of Safety Mark Searle said aviation safety has improved significantly over the past decade, but further progress remains essential.

“Aviation is safer today than it was a decade ago. In that timeframe, fatal accident rates have improved from one accident per 3.5 million flights to one per 5.6 million flights. But 2025 still saw the loss of 394 lives in aviation accidents. Every fatality strengthens our resolve to do better. The next advance in safety will come from people, technology, and standards working together better as one resilient system,” said Mark Searle, IATA’s Director of Safety, speaking at the opening of the IATA World Safety and Operations Conference 2026 in Istanbul.

IATA identified three priorities for people: structured knowledge transfer through mentoring and succession planning; combining the operational experience of established professionals with the digital and AI skills of newer employees; and protecting a safety culture where workers can report hazards, errors and near misses without fear.

"We have spent decades building something genuinely rare: a positive safety culture in which people report their own errors, and mistakes become opportunities for everyone to learn from. That culture was nurtured deliberately over many years, and it is critical that, as one generation moves on, the next takes over the mantle and builds on what was done before," said Searle.

On technology, IATA said innovations including AI should improve risk awareness and decision-making while ensuring operations remain safe if systems become unavailable or compromised.

"Technology can give us critical information that helps us identify risk earlier, understand it more clearly, and take action before an incident becomes an accident. But technology alone is never enough. The aviation system must remain resilient when technology is unavailable, degraded, or provides misleading information. The rise in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) interference is a reminder that technology must always be supported by redundancy, procedures, training, and human judgment," said Searle.

IATA also highlighted the importance of consistent implementation and oversight of global safety standards. The association said many current challenges stem from inconsistent application rather than a lack of standards.

“The next step change in safety will not come from writing more standards. It will come from making sure the standards we already have are understood, implemented and overseen consistently, everywhere," said Searle.

IATA called for stronger oversight focused on areas of greatest risk, improved state compliance with international obligations, particularly on conflict-zone information and accident reporting, and regular updates to standards to reflect technological and operational changes.

"People, technology, and standards must reinforce one another. That’s true whether we are addressing runway safety, GNSS interference, conflict zones or accident investigations. When one of these pillars is weak, the resilience of the entire system is reduced," said Searle. -TradeArabia News Service