An industry representative for Airlines for America said hundreds of near-miss aircraft incidents occur every day in U.S. airspace [1].
These claims highlight a growing tension between industry safety advocates and federal regulators over the actual frequency of aviation risks. While the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) manages air traffic, industry groups argue that the volume of "close calls" is higher than official reports suggest.
Chris Delaney, representing Airlines for America, addressed the frequency of these incidents during a series of reports published in June 2024. He said that the number of these occurrences is significant and widespread across the nation-wide airport system [1], [2].
"There are hundreds of them every single day," Delaney said [3].
The industry group is calling for greater awareness and the implementation of more robust safety measures to prevent these incidents from becoming accidents. The group suggests that the current reporting or visibility of these events may not fully capture the scale of the problem [2], [4].
The FAA has responded to these concerns by emphasizing the stability of the current system. A spokesperson for the agency said the industry group's urgency by focusing on the broader safety record of the aviation network [3].
"America's skies are overwhelmingly safe," the FAA spokesperson said [3].
The disagreement centers on whether the occurrence of hundreds of daily close calls [1] constitutes a systemic failure or a manageable byproduct of a high-volume airspace. The industry group maintains that the frequency of these events warrants immediate attention to ensure long-term safety [2], [4].
“"There are hundreds of them every single day."”
This discrepancy between industry claims and FAA statements suggests a gap in how 'close calls' are defined and tracked. If hundreds of near-misses occur daily, it indicates that the margin of error in U.S. airspace is thinner than the public is led to believe, potentially necessitating a shift in air traffic control protocols or pilot training to maintain the safety record the FAA cites.
