IATA 2025 Safety Report: GPS spoofing incidents surge 193% as aviation records 51 accidents

Global commercial aviation operated 38.7 million flights in 2025, recording 51 accidents — slightly fewer than the 54 reported in 2024. The global all-accident rate improved to 1.32 accidents per million flights (one accident per 759,646 flights), better than 2024's 1.42 but marginally above the five-year average of 1.27.

However, beneath the improving headline rate, a new systemic risk has emerged. IATA's Incident Data eXchange reports that GPS jamming events in 2025 increased by 67% compared to 2023, while GPS spoofing incidents — where navigation systems are deliberately misled — rose by 193%. These are not random failures; they are deliberate acts, concentrated in specific geographic hotspots including conflict zones.

The most common accident types remained tail strikes, landing gear events, runway excursions, and ground damage. Fatal accidents — eight in total — led to 394 deaths, with high-profile crashes at Air India and in the United States significantly elevating the fatality count despite low accident frequency.

IATA Director General Willie Walsh stated: "Civil aircraft must never be placed at risk from military activity. When tensions rise, governments must share timely risk information, ensure effective civil-military coordination, restrict airspace where needed, and provide airlines with sufficient information for their own risk assessments."

What this means for SMS operators: GNSS interference introduces a new class of operational risk that sits outside traditional SMS taxonomies — it is neither a technical failure nor a human factors issue. Aviation operators must update their risk registers to include GNSS-specific threats, establish monitoring procedures for flight crew, and ensure their SMS documentation covers the mitigation steps required when flying through affected airspace. The 72-hour mandatory occurrence reporting obligation under ICAO Annex 13 applies to any GNSS-related serious incident.