Fear of Flying Basics

Fear of flying is a complex psychological issue, one that has been made more complex by the security concerns of the last few years. There are many books, videos, and other resources that deal with the fear of flying, so deciding what may work for you may be a difficult process. The resources on this page and elsewhere on the site should provide the concerned passenger with some insights into fear of flying and some suggestions as to what can be done about it.

How to Deal with Your Fear of Flying

What is Fear of Flying?*
Without getting too technical, the fear of flying, is an anxiety disorder. Such fears can come about during a flight, or even well before a person gets to the airport. Often, the fear has more to do with elements of the flying experience that has little or nothing to do with the risks associated with the flight. Depending on the person, the fear of flying includes one or more of the following elements:

  • Fear of heights
  • Fear of being over water
  • Fear of the dark (flying at night)
  • Fear of the unknown
  • Concerns about accidents or from deliberate attacks
  • Being in an enclosed or crowded space
  • Being idle for long periods of time
  • Loss of personal freedom
  • The security screening process
  • Concerns about turbulence and other weather conditions
  • Not understanding the activities associated with a normal flight
  • Loss of control, or being dependent on technology or people
  • Underlying issues from past psychological or physical trauma

How Many People Are Afraid of Flying?
The airline industry is clearly aware of the fear of flying and how it affects the traveling public. Research is somewhat sparse, with one of the most important studies on fear of flying dates back to 1980, when two Boeing researchers found that 18.1% adults in the U.S. was afraid to fly, and that another 12.6% of adults experienced anxiety when they fly. In short, about one in three adult Americans were afraid to fly. The study was also interesting in that it provided details about why they avoided flying. About half reported that fear was the reason, but only about six percent considered flying unsafe. A more recent poll conducted by Newsweek Magazine in 1999 found that 50% of the adults surveyed who flew on commercial airlines were frightened at least sometimes.

How Does Fear of Flying Affect People?
How people react to fear of flying is as diverse as the reasons why people have anxieties around the flying experience. A common reaction is to avoid flying as much as possible. There are a number of celebrities, including John Madden of video game and American football fame, who go to great lengths to arrange their personal and professional lives to avoid flying. Other reactions include the kind of physical effects associated with a white knuckle flyer, such as sweating, rapid heartbeat and breathing, and nausea. Other reactions can be more dangerous for the passenger and other on the aircraft, such as using drugs or alcohol deal with the experience, or being abusive to other passengers, the cabin crew, or to airline representatives.

Statistics and the Fear of Flying
Often, the aviation community points to the statistics associated with flying risk to illustrate that flying is safe and that passengers should not be afraid. For most who have anxieties associated with flying, these statistics are meaningless because in most cases, the fear is not associated with flight risks. For those who are concerned about flight risk, statistics are also not that useful. Even if the chance of something bad happening is a million to one, the people concerned about risk is focused on whether their flight is going the be the one that doesn't end well.

What You Can Do About It
If fear of flying is affecting you in a way that you don't like, there is no reason to accept it as normal. If you want to take positive steps to deal with it, there are plenty of options available. One of the first steps to recognize that you may have a problem. The Fear of Flying Warning Signs page has a very basic checklist to indicate if you may have significant anxieties associated with flying. You can review the story behind the SOAR fear of flying program, one of the few programs designed to help people deal with fear of flying that is actually designed and led by an airline pilot, Capt. Tom Bunn, who is also a trained therapist. Additional resources are on this page, as well as from SOAR

Recommended Fear of Flying Courses
Licensed therapist and airline pilot Captain Tom Bunn offers a variety of courses that can help you deal with the stress and anxiety that comes with a fear of flying. For a demonstration of the available products, click on the links or video demos below.

    Videos and other products from the SOAR Fear of Flying Program
Additional Fear of Flying Resources from Capt. Tom Bunn

Best Fear of Flying Quote
On 16 February 1999, director Barry Sonnenfeld, whose films include Men in Black, Men in Black II, and Wild, Wild West, escaped injury when the Gulfstream II executive jet he was riding ran off the runway at the Van Nuys, CA airport, crashed into several nearby aircraft, and caught fire. Sonnenfeld and the three crew members escaped injury, but the aircraft was seriously damaged. After the accident, Sonnenfeld was quoted as saying that "The weird thing is that I hate to fly, and the quote that I give people is that every time I get off a plane, I view it as a failed suicide attempt."

Anxiety, Phobia, and Stress
Signs That You May Have a Fear of Flying
One point of view on the fear of flying
Advice for the infrequent or novice flyer
The Psychological Self-Help online book on stress and anxiety

*Note: The fear of flying may have one or more technical names, including aerophobia, aviatophobia, aviophobia, or pteromerhanophobia.

International Calling Card
B&B Accommodation In the UK | r4
Fear of Flying Basics
http://airsafe.com/issues/fear.htm -- Revised 16 May 2008