Americans’ Confidence in Air Travel Dips Slightly After Recent Incidents, Poll Shows
A new poll reveals a slight decline in Americans’ confidence in air travel and the federal agencies responsible for maintaining air safety, potentially influenced by a recent fatal crash in Washington, The Associated Press reports.
However, the majority of Americans still perceive air transportation as generally safe.
The survey, conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, found that 64% of US adults consider plane travel “very safe” or “somewhat safe.” This represents a slight decrease from the previous year, when 71% held this view. Concurrently, the percentage of US adults who believe air transportation is very or somewhat unsafe has risen from 12% in 2024 to approximately 2 in 10.
Faith in the government’s ability to ensure safe air travel has also experienced a minor dip. Just over half of US adults express “a great deal” or “a moderate amount” of confidence in federal government agencies to maintain air safety, a decrease from roughly 6 in 10 last year.
The poll, conducted between February 6-10, occurred shortly after the January 30 collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter in Washington, which resulted in 67 fatalities. The timing also preceded a separate incident in Toronto where a Delta jet flipped on its roof while landing. While the decline in confidence is relatively small, it suggests that the Washington collision, the deadliest aviation disaster since 2001, may have shaken some Americans. The 2024 poll was conducted after a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines jetliner above Oregon.
Despite the dip, overall, Americans perceive traveling by plane to be about as safe as walking or driving, with approximately two-thirds considering both walking and driving to be safe forms of transportation. In contrast, about half of US adults consider local subway, metro, or light rail systems safe, consistent with 2024 figures.
Following the Washington crash, President Donald Trump attributed blame to federal diversity and inclusion promotion efforts while assuring Americans that air travel remains safe.
The poll indicates that independents experienced a significant drop in their belief that plane travel is safe, declining from approximately 6 in 10 last year to about 4 in 10 now. Democrats also saw a slight decrease, with about 7 in 10 now considering plane travel safe, down from about three-quarters in 2024. Republicans, however, maintained consistent views on the safety of air travel.
In January 2024, during Biden’s presidency, sime 7 in 10 Democrats expressed high confidence in federal government agencies to maintain air safety. That number has since dropped to 6 in 10. Independents’ confidence has also declined, while Republicans’ opinions remained stable.
The poll indicates that Americans’ confidence in pilots and commercial airlines remains relatively unchanged, with approximately 8 in 10 US adults expressing a high level of confidence in pilots and about three-quarters expressing similar confidence in commercial airlines.
