According to a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, Americans’ confidence in air travel and the federal agencies responsible for maintaining air safety has slightly decreased compared to last year. The survey shows that 64% of U.S. adults view plane travel as either “very safe” or “somewhat safe,” down from 71% in the previous year. Around 2 in 10 adults now consider air transportation to be unsafe, an increase from 12% in 2024.
Similarly, faith in the government agencies’ ability to ensure safe air travel has also declined. Just over half of U.S. adults have “a great deal” or “a moderate amount” of confidence in federal agencies to maintain air safety, a decrease from around 6 in 10 last year.
The poll was conducted shortly after a significant air incident involving an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter in Washington, D.C., which resulted in a tragic collision claiming the lives of all 67 individuals on board. This event, along with other recent incidents, may have contributed to the decline in confidence, albeit small.
Despite these concerns, Americans still perceive traveling by plane as relatively safe, with about two-thirds comparing it to the safety of walking or driving. The poll also revealed that confidence in pilots and commercial airlines remains high among U.S. adults, with around 8 in 10 expressing trust in pilots and about three-quarters having confidence in commercial airlines.
The poll, which surveyed 1,112 adults, was conducted from Feb. 6-10 and utilized a sample drawn from NORC’s AmeriSpeak Panel. The margin of sampling error for adults is…
The margin of error for the overall percentage is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
