Airline passenger news and views
19 May 2012 | Sign In
Fear of Flying
From a mild concern to avoiding flying altogether, a fear of flying can be a real issue.
|
Kayte Platts Wednesday 24 November 2010 |
I was quite staggered to read that an alarming 30 to 40 percent of people experience a fear of flying ranging from mild concern to avoiding flying altogether. This particular phobia is known as aerophobia. It can strike men and women alike, from all walks of life and even frequent flyers are not immune.
A fear of flying is often linked to an incident when a flight did not run smoothly. Experiencing severe turbulence can be enough to put you off for life. Feelings of tension, and anxiety are common. The passenger will often find it impossible to concentrate on normal things like reading or watching the in-flight movie.
Some people simply have no choice but to fly for their job. I read an article recently about a lady who literally threatened to resign purely because her job requires that she fly. She did, however, conclude that it is “a bit like childbirth”, in that every time she gets off the plane, she forgets just how bad it is until the next time!
A lot of people do not seek any professional help as a lot of courses are geared on focusing how ‘safe’ air travel is. It is not necessarily the right approach maybe, as I would imagine you need to focus purely on the ‘fear’ itself. I myself experience a feeling ‘a loss of control’. If something were to happen it is totally out my own personal control.
Fear of flying is probably the second-most common fear that people go to their health practitioner with, after public speaking. Most people develop it after years of frequent flying. It is a phenomenon that tends to occur at certain life changes or trigger points, such as the birth of a child. People are then haunted by this and develop a fear of flying in spite of having flown comfortably for years.
Where “comfortable flyers” see their flights as a means to an end, 'fearful flyers' just see a flight as the end. There is not “one class” of fear, there is a range. While some people are mildly anxious, others are paralysed. Some people get nervous as soon as the flight is booked. Others are terrified of takeoff, but they are fine with landing, or the other way round.
For some people it is the sounds that worry them. Many will keep their eyes on the flight attendant and if they see her moving quickly, they think they are doomed – although it is probably just that the captain wants a cup of tea!
| Comments | Post a comment |
|
Zoe, Hartley 25 November 2010, 12:09PM | |
I can relate to this article as I am a very nervous flyer. I loved flying as a young child but had a bad experience in 1987 when I flew back from Spain. It was the night the hurricane had hit Britain and of course had a major effect on the flying conditions. The plane was caught in an airpocket and dropped drastically, my Grandmother was with us and it was the first time she had ever flown. Since then I hate the prospect of flying and have never been able to consider flying long haul, Spain is the maximum I have done yet since that day! | |
| Rating (0) | |
|
Laurie, South Downs 25 November 2010, 02:16PM | |
I think that in some cases rather than the fear coming from a bad experience it can often be related to getting older. I read recently that a poll that had been carried out on people over 30 people, almost 60 percent said they felt more vunerable about flying than they did as a child. | |
| Rating (0) | |
|
Luisa Smart 25 November 2010, 04:25PM | |
I have a terrible phobia about flying. It was triggered by a bad experience when having to go through an emergency landing in the old Hong Kong airport. I cannot begin to explain the terror I went through. As a result I try as much as I can to avoid flying now. | |
| Rating (0) | |
|
Emma, London 26 November 2010, 12:38PM | |
I agree with Zoe, I have always hated flying. Although i have flown to Florida, I absloutly hated the idea of a 8 hour flight but the experience of visitng Florida made up for it! | |
| Rating (0) | |
|
Kelsey, Sutton Valance 29 November 2010, 11:53AM | |
I think it is definately more of a age related problem. Flying never bothered me until I hit my 30's and had children and then all of a sudden you start to think what would happen if this or that happened. I know it is madness because we are told time and time again that flying is the safest way to travel, however that doesn't help! | |
| Rating (0) | |
|
Kerry, Chislehurst 29 November 2010, 11:55AM | |
I am not a keen flyer and never have been. I don't think it is just the fear of flying but it is more the whole travelling experience. I can't stand the airport, the checking in and queue's is enough to put you off and thats before you have even boarded! | |
| Rating (0) | |
|
Isabella, Canvey Island 3 December 2010, 09:18AM | |
I think that unfortunately over the years the level of customer care when on board a flight has detoriated and therefore this does not help if you are already a nervous flyer. Gone are the days when you got offered a boiled sweet on take off. Now I feel that if I ever needed to press the buzzer for assistance I would be too scared as the hostesses are often so hostile. | |
| Rating (0) | |
|
Jade, Bexleyheath 3 December 2010, 12:59PM | |
I am and always will be a very nerovus flyer. When I was younger I was flying back from Malaga with my family and our plane was struck by lightening. I am aware that this is a very uncommon incident but since that day I definitely suffer from Areophobia! | |
| Rating (0) | |
|
Gerry, Norwich 6 December 2010, 01:39PM | |
I agree that most nervous flyers are that way because of a bad experience. A few years ago I was flying back from Cyprus and we hit a thuderstorm, the turbulence was terrible and I have yet to board a plane since. | |
| Rating (0) | |
|
Billy, London 10 December 2010, 06:04PM | |
I have experienced some very bad flights but I still fly! You simply cannot be put of by a bad experience! | |
| Rating (0) | |
|
Sanda, Cliftonville 14 December 2010, 12:03PM | |
Billy, you say that you have had some bad experiences but you are not put off. Well lucky you! | |
| Rating (0) | |
 | Eugene Gold |
| Food poisoning - take your medicine | |
| Why I like Virgin Atlantic |
 | Catriona Wells |
| Overweight passengers re-visited | |
| Let us keep our star rating system |
| Kayte Batchelor |
| Double Agent who helped foil an Al Qaeda plot was a British National | |
| Endless queues at Border Controls spark fears of a 'Summer of Chaos' |
