not a good year for air transport, and the geopolitical context is very poor. An accident in aviation is always terrible, because it should never happen. When there is a road accident, we talk about fate; it doesn’t make the headlines. In a single day, there are probably more deaths on the roads than in aviation in an entire year. But air travel is supposed to be completely safe. So I understand why these tragedies are covered by the media: they are spectacular and, in theory, should not happen. However, it should be remembered that the number of deaths is infinitesimal compared to the number of flights and passengers carried. The level of safety in air transport is not absolute, but it borders on excellence. That is why certain accidents are unacceptable. Moreover, they never happen again: investigations are exhaustive, precisely to prevent any recurrence. I am convinced that one day, the Malaysia Airlines plane that disappeared in the Indian Ocean will be found, because we want to understand exactly what happened. Huge sums of money are spent on finding out, understanding and correcting: this is the DNA of air transport. Absolute safety is based on ICAO rules and investigations by the BEA in France, which has its equivalent in every country. Yet some accidents should not happen. In December 2024, a plane crashed into a concrete wall in Korea: it’s unbelievable. The Air India accident, or the collision between a helicopter and an aeroplane in the United States, are similar. These are tragedies that should never happen. The technology exists; it is the human factor that is to blame.
growth of air transport, in the order of 5% per year (which is exceptional), they may have taken this success for granted and were completely caught off guard when some people denounced the nuisance and pollution generated by this mode of transport. The leaders did not think to make it known that they were selling not only a dream, but also gateways to the future for their passengers. That surprises me. It is for this reason that our speakers at World Connect by APG in Seville will be talking about the future of aviation. Jean-Emmanuel Hay: A more environmentally friendly future... Jean-Louis Baroux: We must remain realistic: by 2050, air transport will not be completely carbon-free. We have not yet made the technological leap that would allow us to lift 300 tonnes and transport them to the other side of the world without using fossil fuels.
That doesn’t mean we won’t get there, but we are still a long way off. That is why we are delighted to welcome Bertrand Piccard, who will discuss these prospects. Will the future lie in hydrogen or other fuels? It is too early to say. The necessary investments will be considerable, and it is the airlines, as well as passengers, who will bear the cost. The current system, based on taxation, poses a real problem. The governments that introduced these taxes have an unfortunate tendency to divert the revenue away from decarbonising air transport and towards undermining it in favour of land transport, which is supposed to be less polluting. In my view, this is a real scam. Jean-Emmanuel Hay: 2025 is shaping up to be a difficult year for the aviation sector, which has seen several accidents...
Jean-Louis Baroux: Indeed, 2025 is
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