Travel News February 2018


Safest flying year in history


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No commercial airline accidents in 2017 accidents has shown a steady and persistent


ERVOUS fliers, indeed all travellers, will be delighted to hear that 2017 was the safest year in history for commercial airlines, according to industry research. There were no passenger jets crashes anywhere in the world, separate reports by Dutch consultancy To70 and The Aviation Safety Network found.


This was despite more flights being made than ever before.


The Dutch company said that despite high safety levels on passenger planes, the "extraordinarily" low accident rate must be seen as "good fortune".


A report by the Airline Safety Network said that there were a total of 10 fatal accidents, resulting in 79 deaths last year, but none involving commercial airlines. The organisation based its figures on incidents involving civil aircraft certified to carry at least 14 people. Aviation deaths have been steadily falling for the last two decades. In 2005, there were more than 1,000 deaths on-board commercial passenger flights worldwide, the Aviation Safety Network said.


The last fatal passenger jet airliner accident took place in November 2016 in Colombia, and the last commercial passenger aircraft crash to kill more than 100 people occurred in Egypt a year earlier.


ASN said the accident rate was just one fatal passenger flight accident per 7,360,000 flights. "Since 1997 the average number of airliner


decline, for a great deal thanks to the continuing safety-driven efforts by international aviation organisations such as ICAO, IATA, Flight Safety Foundation and the aviation industry," ASN president Harro Ranter said.


"2017 was the safest year for aviation ever," said Adrian Young of To70, but added civil aviation still carried "very large risks". He pointed to new technology including fears of lithium-ion batteries catching fire on- board, as well as "mental health issues and fatigue," among the main risk factors for the industry.


Last year (2017) was the safest ever year for flying Rough Guides’ top places to visit in the year ahead...


ROUGH Guides has announced its top travel destinations for 2018 with Newcastle in England's North West coming out on top.


This year is the first time Rough Guides has combined cities, countries and regions to create one definitive list of places to visit in the year ahead. Newcastle is described by Rough Guides as a city on the rise, host of the first Great Exhibition of the North in 2018, and praised by the travel publisher


for its Geordie geniality, lively nightlife, burgeoning restaurant scene, fantastic museums and architectural feats. The new Civil Rights Trail in the USA came second, while Malawi took the third spot.


From new trekking routes and historical trails to underrated cities and conservation success stories, Rough Guides’ team of travel editors, journalists and authors have picked 18 places that adventurous, independent travellers


should have on their radar.


Coralie Modschiedler, Senior Web Editor at Rough Guides, said: “After weeks of deliberation, we’re extremely excited to reveal the 18 destinations that made The Rough Guide to 2018. This year, we wanted to include destinations that will be big news next year but also look at places that are underrated, up- and-coming or back on the tourist map.” Rough Guides is a leading travel publisher known for its “tell it like it is”


attitude, accurate, up-to-date content and authoritative contemporary writing. The Rough Guide to 2018 Top Travel Destinations is:


1, Newcastle, England; 2, Civil Rights Trail, USA; 3, Malawi; 4, Valletta, Malta; 5, Wales; 6, Cuba; 7, Russia; 8, New Orleans, USA; 9, Chile; 10, Sierra Leone; 11, South Korea; 12, Jordan; 13, Tbilisi, Georgia; 14, South Africa; 15, Palermo, Italy; 16, Togian Islands, Indonesia; 17, Tunisia; 18, Belize.


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