After Air India plane crash, should we worry about flying? Simon Calder answers your air travel safety questions – UK Times

Welcome to an exclusive Ask Me Anything session with me, Simon Calder, travel correspondent at The Independent.

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The heartbreaking crash of Air India flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick has shocked many and raised serious questions about aviation safety.

This tragedy follows a series of fatal accidents involving passenger jets in South Korea, Azerbaijan, Brazil and the United States over the past six months. Understandably, many prospective travellers are asking: is flying becoming more dangerous?

Yet while these incidents are deeply troubling, it’s important to remember that this is still the safest era in the history of aviation. In 2023, no scheduled passenger jets were involved in fatal accidents. And since the 1980s, there hasn’t been a single fatal crash involving a UK passenger jet.

The risks that once haunted aviation have, for the most part, been engineered out – but recent events, from mid-air structural failures to fatal runway collisions, show that no system is immune to failure.

So what lessons are being learned from the latest disasters? What role does aircraft design – especially at Boeing – play in these incidents? And how can passengers assess risk and stay informed without succumbing to fear?

I’ll be answering all your questions about air safety, recent crashes, aviation regulation and what it all means for travellers in 2025 and beyond.

If you have a question, submit it now or join me live for our “Ask Me Anything” Q&A on Wednesday, 16 June at 1pm BST.

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