The number of safety incidents on Canadian runways is on the rise, having reached new highs in recent years even as the tally of extremely close calls seems to be levelling off.

Data from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada shows that so-called runway incursions — when a plane, vehicle or person is on or near a runway when they shouldn’t be — hit a record 639 in 2024, the latest year for which the watchdog has statistics.

However, the number of incidents categorized as high-risk has settled down to about one per year on average since 2018, well below figures from the preceding decade.

Safety board chairman Yoan Marier says the upward trajectory of runway incidents overall is worrying nonetheless and stems partly from growing air traffic, a shortage of air traffic controllers and increasingly complex ground operations at large airports.

He has called for better signage and lighting as well as broader uptake of technology to keep pilots and controllers more attuned to movements on the tarmac.

The issue of runway safety garnered renewed attention last month after an Air Canada Express jet plowed into a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport, killing both pilots and sending dozens to hospital.

A report by Christopher Reynolds