The EASA 2023 Annual Safety Review (ASR) is now online. The 2023 edition looks at the safety performance of the European aviation system in 2022. This, and other analyses carried out by EASA in collaboration with the National Aviation Authorities (NAAs) and industry is used to support the decision-making that is reflected in the European Plan for Aviation Safety (EPAS). Therefore, where risks are identified, further analysis is performed and when needed, mitigation actions are included in the EPAS. This is a continual workstream as part of the European Safety Risk Management Process.

The report provides an analysis of accidents, serious incidents and other occurrences, using ICAO Annex 13 definitions. The source is EASA’s occurrence database, complemented by the European Central Repository (ECR), which contains the reports collected under Regulation (EU) No 376/2014. The ASR also provides information on the level of occurrence reporting in Europe and on EASA’s standardisation activities.

New to this year’s report is domain-specific appendices and an airworthiness analysis.

Domain-specific appendices have been introduced with more advanced safety data and analysis for specialised readers. Where a domain safety risk portfolio exists, the domain specific appendix outlines the safety issues that have been identified. The appendices include safety issues, which are prioritised based on their aggregated risk contribution using ERCS.

An airworthiness analysis is provided in the product-related domains. The term airworthiness includes aircraft design, aircraft production, and aircraft maintenance. The analysis shows the contribution of aircraft system loss and malfunction to the accidents and serious incidents, including the distribution of the main Air Transport Association (ATA) chapters. A slightly deeper analysis reveals the contribution of design, production, and maintenance to aircraft system loss and malfunction; i.e. highlighting the systemic root cause of a system or equipment failure.

In 2022, the world and air transport began its journey to recovery after the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Traffic levels are at around 93% of the pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019. This remarkable resurgence is a testament to the resilience and adaptability of the aviation industry, and underlines that citizens still have a strong desire to travel by air, which remains the safest form of transport.