Safety

Safety performance

Improving workplace safety and reducing employee injuries remains a top priority for operations teams throughout the organization. Our ultimate goal remains zero injuries across United.

We are equally dedicated to the safety of contractors working on behalf of United, who must comply with company safety rules and regulations. Additionally, contractors are represented in our monthly Safety Action Team (SAT) meetings so they can share risks and provide updates.

Each year, we set targets that drive action and accountability. Meeting these goals involves implementing comprehensive safety programs, providing regular training, conducting risk assessments and promoting a culture of safety awareness.

We conduct operational surveillance to mitigate risk to the Company within the structure of our SMS. Our Internal Evaluation team audits the consistency of execution against operating policies and procedures that are designed to safeguard team members, customers and equipment. This is accomplished through a continuous, risk-based audit program of all operating divisions, which is focused on key exposures to potential employee injury, aircraft damage and regulatory non-compliance.

In 2025, we recorded a 12.4% reduction in ergonomic-related lost time injuries.

We track trends and monitor various types of injuries such as ergonomic injuries, head injuries, heat-related injuries and slips, trips and falls. We are working diligently to keep injury reduction momentum going in 2026 by focusing on initiatives and campaigns around ergonomics, safe driving behaviors and awareness of slip-and-fall prevention.

Our teams are continually improving personal protective equipment and ergonomics as well as supporting the use of automation and enhancing tools that encourage employees to report potential hazards. We also test and roll out initiatives geared toward enhancing safety protocols. Recently, we invested in video motion-capture software to identify and mitigate ergonomic risk. This technology will improve training on proper body mechanics by allowing employees to visualize techniques and compare with best practices, helping standardize mitigation controls across the Company.

Grey-haired male flight attendant sitting down and putting on his seatbelt.

As a result of our turbulence injury mitigation efforts and policy changes, United Airlines saw a decrease of 18.9% from 2024 to 2025 in the rate of injuries occurring due to turbulence. We also saw 50% fewer serious NTSB injury incidents year over year.

After data analysis in 2023 showed that the majority of employee turbulence-related injuries occurred during the initial descent phase, we revised our policy to require flight attendants to be seated earlier during flights. This data-driven safety approach continues delivering measurable protection for flight attendants while preserving operational efficiency.

With the launch of our new United Safety Hub, we are building a data-rich and fully integrated SMS that supports the use of advanced safety analytics. These analytics enable us to proactively identify risk patterns and predict potential incidents before they occur.

In 2025, we recorded a 12.4% reduction in ergonomic-related lost time injuries.

As a result of our turbulence injury mitigation efforts and policy changes, United Airlines saw a decrease of 18.9% from 2024 to 2025 in the rate of injuries occurring due to turbulence. We also saw 50% fewer serious NTSB injury incidents year over year.

OSHA recordable injury rate 2021–2025