Airline group vows action after black week for aviation

KUALA LUMPUR: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Friday it will "leave nothing unturned" to boost global aviation safety after a black week for the industry that has claimed over 460 lives in three separate crashes.

"With three tragedies in such quick succession, many people will, understandably, be asking questions about aviation safety," Tony Tyler, the head of the global airline federation, said in a statement.

"The greatest respect that we can pay to the memory of those involved is to leave nothing unturned in our quest to understand the cause and to take steps to ensure that it is not repeated." "Our number one priority is safety. And despite the events of the past seven days, flying is safe," he added.

Tyler´s comments came at the end of a disastrous week for the aviation industry. On July 17, a Malaysia Airlines jet crashed in rebel-held eastern Ukraine, believed downed by a surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people on board. A Taiwanese aircraft crashed in torrential rain in southwest Taiwan on Wednesday, killing 48.On Friday, the wreckage of an Air Algerie plane bound for Algier from Burkina Faso with at least 116 people on board was found in Mali´s Gossi region, a day after it went missing. Tyler said the number of fatalities from aviation incidents this year had surpassed the 210 deaths seen last year. "But even so, getting on an aircraft is still among the safest activities that one can do," he said.

"Safeguarding our customers from harm as we transport them around the world is core to the mission of the aviation industry."

IATA represents 240 airlines around the world that account for 84 percent of total air traffic.