DETEC - Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications of the Swiss Confederation

05/01/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/02/2024 02:04

Aviation: 2023 Annual Safety Report published

Federal Office of Civil Aviation

Bern, 01.05.2024 - The Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) processed almost 10,000 incident reports in 2023. These contribute to the ongoing improvement of safety on the ground and in the air. Annual safety statistics are published in the Annual Safety Report. This year's report has just come out, and includes the positive news that there were no fatal accidents in commercial aviation in Switzerland in 2023.

A brief overview of the other statistics contained in the report: a 24% increase in the number of reported incidents in commercial and general aviation, 55% more GPS jamming, 10% more drone conflicts, more laser attacks and two general aviation accidents with a total of five fatalities. The number of incidents reported has been increasing since 2019, mainly because of an improved reporting culture, more large-scale GPS jamming on aircraft in conflict regions and the increased use of laser and drones.

The types of incidents reported to the FOCA are diverse and include aircraft damaged during ground handling, near collisions between aircraft mid-air and on the taxiway, bird strikes and cyber attacks. In the 2023 reporting year, the FOCA processed a total of 9,995 incidents.

From the reports received, the FOCA categorises, analyses and identifies the key causes of the incidents for five areas of risk - aerodromes, flight operations, flight technology, air traffic management and helicopter operations - and assesses them according to their degree of severity.

The safety culture of civil aviation builds on the experience of pilots, air traffic controllers and ground staff. The FOCA derives preventive measures from the safety-relevant incidents reported and draws up recommendations.

Collisions are the safety aspect that takes the highest priority. It is crucial to determine which services and technologies can and should be used to increase airspace safety in the short and long term. The FOCA is working with the aviation industry to develop solutions.

The FOCA has also been running a safety campaign named staysafe.aero for several years. The target group: More than 10'000 general aviation pilots and those involved in light aviation. It posts weekly about the latest safety-relevant topics - on social media, and now on its new website.

Address for enquiries

Media contacts:
Communications FOCA, Telephone +41 58 464 23 35


Publisher

Federal Office of Civil Aviation
http://www.bazl.admin.ch