Fear of flying or 'aerophobia' is very common and most people suffer from it at sometime during their lives. It seems irrational and there are many reasons for it and many people do avoid flying completely, rather that tackle their fears. Prior to the pandemic, a study in the US, showed that 17% of all Americans were afraid to fly. There are many ways to approach this and here we take a look at some ideas on how to tackle fear of flying.

The reasons why

The thought of being stuck in a metal tube in the sky, does not appeal to most people. Flying is stressful whether you are flying for business reasons or your family holidays and the pandemic has less than helped the whole situation. If there is an aircraft accident (thankfully very rare) it is seen all over the media and people assume it's not a safe way to travel.

Out of control?

For many people, its feeling that they are out of control of a situation and bound by the seatbelt sign, the flight attendants and the aircraft and often respond in anger, sometimes compounded by fear. Some people hate enclosed spaces and don't like heights, which can cause some anxiety when taking a flight. The unknown noises and movements of the aircraft can also unsettle some people as they don't know what is happening.

What can be done?

There are many things that will help with the fear of flying. Small things like wearing headphones during the flight help some people as well as distracting themselves (inflight entertainment) and breathing exercises. For more serious cases, psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral training and hypnotherapy can work wonders.

Wizz Air Cabin Crew
Photo: Wizz Air

Onboard the flight

Watching the flight attendants is also a good way of judging things like turbulence during a flight. If they are not looking worried and calmly going ahead with their duties, there is absolutely nothing to worry about. Also, feel free to speak to a flight attendant, who will certainly sympathize and, if possible, will sit near to you during take-off (depending on the airline) and may talk you through the sounds and what things mean. Of course, remember that they and the pilots do this on a daily basis, and it is very rare for anything serious to happen to a flight.

Courses

One of the best ways to deal with the fear of flying is to take an airline course on just that. British Airways, for example, offers a number of 'fly with confidence' courses, right from an online course through to a full-day session incorporating technology, psychology and a short-haul flight. This is an area that is still continuing to grow, with more airlines tackling the subject, and also the use of training simulators to practice a flight in a 'safe' environment and the use of virtual reality headsets.

British Airways flying with confidence course fear of flying
Photo: British Airways

The facts

The truth is that you are more likely to die from being kicked to death by a donkey than being involved in an aircraft accident. The most dangerous part of your family holiday is, in fact, the car journey to the airport. IATA in 2015 said that there were over 3.5 billion people traveling as passengers on commercial aircraft, and during that time, there have been 68 accidents, 4 being fatal with 136 deaths. The risk of dying during car travel was estimated to have a 1 in 107 chance, whereas air travel could not even be communicated as the number was insignificant.

Another cure

Perhaps an unorthodox approach, which nevertheless works. After the 'Miracle on the Hudson', one of the US businessmen onboard suffered from fear of flying. He tackled and overcame his fears by training to be a pilot.