Air travel 'safer' in 2014 despite Malaysian disasters: IATA

Tyler, who called the loss of MH17 with the 298 passengers and crew on board an "unacceptable act of aggression", added that governments and the industry should find ways to reduce the risk of over-flying conflict zones.

"This includes better sharing of critical information about security risks to civil aviation," he said.

The other high-profile event of 2014, the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, with 239 passengers and crew, has become one of the biggest mysteries in the history of aviation.

An extensive search in the southern Indian Ocean, where satellite data showed that the Boeing 777-200ER ended up after being diverted from its original flight path, has not found any sign of the plane. An investigation report that was released on Sunday did not reveal anything new.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations body that regulates global aviation, proposed after MH370 that commercial aircraft report their position every 15 minutes instead of the current norm of 30-40 minutes.

This will improve the ability to track commercial aircraft globally and find remote crash sites much faster.

IATA supported the move but balked the proposed deadline of December 2015.