2025 Plane Crashes Have People Rethinking Air Travel

jessicagreaux
Feb 22
4 min read

Should we Travel by Plane or Find Alternative Transport

Recent events have people thinking maybe they should be catching feelings instead of catching flights this year. Are they on to something or are we being a bit too dramatic?

Plane Crashes and Traveling in 2025

Plane crashes have surprisingly decreased, despite flight increases, over the past 3 years (January 2025: 52, January 2024: 58, January 2023: 70 according to NTSB reports). However, news outlets and social media seem to be telling a different story. It feels like every day there is a new crash and more drama surrounding airports and planes. Could this just be for views, ratings and attention or should we be seriously reconsidering how we travel in 2025.

Flying is Still the Safest Mode of Transport

According to the NTSB Chairperson, Jennifer Homendy "Aviation is still among the safest modes of transportation". She went on to say that "US civil aviation accidents decreased from 541 in 2009 to, according to our preliminary numbers, 357 in 2022".

In 2022 alone there were over 42,000 fatalities by a motor vehicle, according to the US Department of Transport. In 2021, over 43,000 fatalities.

The Internet Isn't A Real Place

Despite these statistics I have seen TikTok videos of people putting holy oil on the outside of planes as they board and my timeline riddled with stories of planes on fire, flipped over and crashing. While numbers don't lie, videos tell a different story and they can be quite scary to watch.

However, keep in mind that people do tend to exaggerate a situation and your timeline is created based on what you watch a lot of. If you keep searching for plane crashes the algorithm will continue to show you similar things on your home feed. Plus, news outlets and magazines get more money when more people read and watch a story.

So, in my humble opinion, live based off of the statistics and not off of the hype. Every incident and worldly issue seem to be multiplying in recent years, and that might be true based on an increased population, but it is also easier to get news and information delivered to you.

Are you more scared to fly now?

No, I feel the same way about planes
Yes, I might reconsider some trips I have planned

Alternatives to flying

If you're reconsidering taking a flight, you feel doubtful, but you still have the travel bug these are some alternates you can consider:

Take a Train

The Brightline train in Miami takes you from Miami straight to Orlando with stops in Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach. There is also the Amtrak that takes you all over the US with scenic views and the option for luxury cabins.

Trains are also better for the environment as they emit fewer carbon emissions. A 2022 Department of Transportation study found that traveling by train from Los Angeles to San Diego produced less than half the emissions of flying, according to The New York Times. One passenger emits 133g of CO2 by domestic plane travel whereas a train is only 41g.

Road trip view of an old time Volkswagen bus at sunset looking at an ocean

Consider a Road Trip

Grab a bunch of your friends, rent a hybrid car and do a road trip. This way you can stop in many different cities along the way, make frequent stops to famous/historical site seeing destinations and most importantly popular food spots.

This option can also be better than taking a plane, environmentally wise. If you take a fully electronic or a hybrid car your emissions are far less than one emitted by a plane. Planes burn more fuel than cars, which results in more carbon dioxide emissions. Be sure to drive safely, don't drink and drive or drive while tired so you can increase your chances of an accident-free trip (cars are one of the most accident prone ways to travel).

Views of the side of a cruise ship on the ocean

Travel by Sea

If the route permits it, you can also travel by sea or any body of water. There are tons of things to do on a cruise ship, you can bring your entire family and still have enough space from them and if you don't think about the Titanic it could be less stressful than flying.

However, according to BBC "Even the most efficient cruise ships emit more carbon dioxide per passenger kilometer than a passenger jet." So personally I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you're going to find other ways to positively impact the environment and negate your carbon emissions. Such as, packing reusable or sustainable products, being mindful of your food waste, how many cups or towels you use to reduce how much washing they do etc. I don't expect you to think about this the entire time you're on vacation so maybe skip this altogether.

Let me know in the comments if you're still fully open to flying or if you have your reserves about it.