You're listening to the European Parliamentary Research Service podcast on new civil aviation safety rules.

Despite some high-profile disasters in the past five years, flying remains one of the safest forms of transport, especially in the EU.

But the skies are getting crowded. So to keep this excellent track record in the future, the EU has decided to update and adapt

its aviation safety rules to the new challenges.

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In the past decade, there have been fewer than two plane crashes per 10 million flights

in the EU.

The figure rises to 15 in the Middle East and is approaching 40 in Africa, which makes

the EU the safest area to fly in the world. And if you're not yet convinced, consider this.

According to the statistics, you have a one in three million chance of dying from food poisoning,

so you're actually more likely to die

from the airline's food than in a plane crash.

But as global air traffic is expected to double over the next 20 years and new forms of

unmanned aircraft such as drones appear in European skies, can we automatically assume that

flying in the EU will be as safe in the future as it is now?

Before we answer this question, let's have a quick look at the current situation.

EU's civil aviation safety rules cover all key areas of aviation, including airworthiness, air crew, aerodromes, air operations and the provision of air navigation services.

They also define clear roles and responsibilities

for the European Aviation Safety Agency and National Authorities.

Big drones, weighing more than 150 kilograms, are also partially covered by EU law, but it's

the smaller ones which are widely available to consumers that pose a problem, as they are

...