More than five in 10 Australians believe the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is doing a good or great job, new figures show.
The survey, commissioned by CASA and conducted by Galaxy Research, found 15 per cent of respondents believed the aviation regulator was doing a great job, while 41 per cent said CASA was doing a good job.
Four per cent of respondents said CASA was doing a poor or very poor job.
“The public generally believe Australia has a good safety record and attribute the low number of aircraft incidents to CASA’s efforts and believe there are good regulations in place,” the report said.
Separately, the report found 80 per cent of Australians believed travelling on a commercial flight was just as safe or more safe than five years ago.
Moreover, 60 per cent said commercial airline flights in Australia were safer than in the US or Europe.
“There is a general impression among the public that aviation safety is improving due to developments in technology and stricter safety regulations,” the report said.
“However, a minority have raised concerns about maintenance regimes, safety checks and insufficient regulation across both charter and private aircraft operators.”
CASA’s acting director of aviation safety (DAS) Terry Farquharson said it was “good news” Australians had a high level of confidence about aviation safety.
“Everyone in Australian aviation can be proud that a large majority of the public views safety in a positive light and ranks safety in Australia ahead of the United States or Europe,” Farquharson said in October’s CASA Briefing published on Tuesday.
“Overall, the news from this research is very good for Australian aviation and highlights how hard we must all work to protect and enhance our safety record.”
The survey of 1,019 respondents aged 18 years and over was conducted between September 2-4 2014.
