Flying said to be safer than ever

Airline passengers throughout the world are safer today flying around the globe than at any previous time in aviation history, according to a newly-released study.

Six million passengers travel by air daily, and are reported to be 22 times safer traveling in an airplane than they are in a car on the road, according to a joint study published by Boeing and the U.S. National Safety Council.

Air safety records have seen steady improvement since 1960, from 45 fatal accidents for every one million departures to a rate currently that stands at less than one for every million, as the industry has learned from accidents and technology has made significant strides.

Topping the areas of the globe where it is safest to fly are the U.S. and Europe, while Africa had a somewhat worse safety record.

Qantas has consistently rated as of the world’s safest airlines, and until July of this year, had an unblemished safety record.

An incident that occurred on a Qantas flight between Hong Kong and Melbourne on one of the carrier’s Boeing 747s left a huge hole in the side of the fuselage and forced the jet into an emergency landing at the Manila International Airport, in the Philippines.