Photo in public domain: Taken by FAA official, August 2005

In 2011 some 507 passengers and 14 people on the ground perished in 28 crashes of multi-engine airliners.  These global statistics were collected by the Aviation Safety Network.  The figures include crashes by airlines that do not belong to IATA, so the IATA total for the year is slightly lower at 486 fatalities.

The average for the preceding ten years was 30 crashes a year, with an annual average of 785 deaths.  2011 was therefore a safer year than usual.

Regional statistics

Further analysis shows that there were no deaths at all in the USA, Europe and northern Asia.  Though Iran had just one crash, that incident resulted in 77 deaths, making it the single worst accident for 2011.

There were 3 fatal crashes each in Canada, the Congo and Indonesia.  Russia suffered 6 fatal crashes.

Canada’s crashes are regarded as a statistical quirk, but the often-extreme weather conditions in that country tend to make flying conditions difficult.  In relation to the number of passenger journeys the Congo comes out looking particularly bad.

The problem in Russia is the number of Soviet-era aircraft with poor reliability that are still in use.  The authorities are obviously aware of the problem and are doing what they can to remedy the situation, which will take time and a great deal of money.

The Congo suffers from a generally poor safety record that is a feature of many African lands.  And Soviet-era aircraft with poor reliability.

EU banned airline list

Since 2006 the European Union has published a list of airlines that are banned from flying into the EU.  The regulations cover safety concerns due to poor maintenance and deficient oversight standards and are based on physical inspection of aircraft that have flown to the EU.

A large segment of the banned airlines are African lands, many of whom, including the Congo, have all airlines based in their country banned from flying to the EU.

If you are travelling to an exotic location and considering using a regional airline, check the EU banned list to see if the airline you are considering is on the banned list.  If it is then the common-sense decision is not to use that airline.

Since the EU list is updated from time to time we are not listing the airlines here but provide a link to the latest copy of the EU list so that you can be sure that it is up to date.  Airlines can be removed from the list once they have demonstrated their safety compliance, and new airlines can be added.

List of airlines banned within the EU

Dames Street Dublin - special event.

There are two reasons for this:

• You could miss out on something fun, and
• You might ruin your holiday by mis-timing

Most times it is something that is good that you will kick yourself for when you arrive back home and your friends ask you about it: “So how was Oktoberfest?” they may ask.  “We did not go anywhere near Bavaria when we were in Germany,” you may sadly reply.

Similarly, May Day celebrations in Moscow can be quite interesting because of the massed display of military might.  If you visit some other attraction on the day, you could be disappointed.

Other experiences may not be so much fun.  China’s New Year celebrations can be very impressive and festive indeed – these are the clever people that invented gunpowder after all, and they use an awful lot of it at displays during that time.  However, if you are planning a long-distance railway journey across China at the wrong time, it may be very unpleasant indeed.

Many thousands of Chinese citizens cram into the trains at the start to the Chinese New Year, in order to return to their villages of origin.  Congestion on public transport is bad.  Furthermore, it is not unheard of for them to wear adult incontinence nappies because the pressure on the lavatories is severe and it can take 30 hours to get home.  Think of being stuck in public transport at close range with used incontinence nappies, with perhaps 80% more people in the train than usual and the mind forms an unpleasant picture.

There may be other disruptions.  Some arise at short notice, so you may need to be adaptable (because it may be too late to defer your holiday).  In Paris, for instance, it has become almost customary to strike in spring or autumn.  You may need to scan local newspapers even if you cannot read the language!  The word to look for is grève.  Depending on whose turn it is you may expect certain forms of transport not to be functioning, or farmers may decide to turn the Champs-Elysees into a farm, as they did in 2010.  Very clever, even pretty and a charming way to protest, but even if you have your own transport that will make it really difficult to get around!

— Contributed.