Fear Of Flying - My 10 Tips To Become a More Relaxed Flyer
Updated blog post from 2018
Hello my Aviator,
it makes me really sad to hear that many of you are anxious to fly and cannot enjoy travelling by plane! That is why I want to give you an update on my fear of flying blog post. I actually could write a whole book about this subject. I am passionate to help you to feel more comfortable on board. Hopefully, my 10 tips to manage this anxiety will help you so I see you much more relaxed up in the sky.
Fear of flying
In fact, a survey suggests that 43 percent of people have at least some fear of flying and around 9 percent are so afraid that they would not go on a flight. Now I understand why I receive so many comments and messages asking me what they can do against their fear of flying. In this article, I want to help you as much as possible to get over that fear which is also known as aviophobia. I hope that my personal words as a pilot are more persuasive than those of a third person who is not involved in the aviation industry as much as I am.
There is no reason to panic!
During my research for this blog post, I found out that the most common reason for the fear of flying is the fear to crash. But the probability for that is vanishing low. Let me mention them again to get an idea of how safe flying really is.
It is the safest means of transportation but also the most dangerous one at the same time.
Flying through the air with over 800 km/h with tons of ignitable fuel. In the first place, this does not sound really comforting. And because of that, we took all measures to make it to the safest way of travel.
The probability of your plane going down is around one in 5.4 million. (according to The Economist) It is more likely to be attacked by a shark or even killed by the flu. Travelling in a car is 100 times more deadly than flying in a plane. Despite the high profile plane crashes in the past, it has never been safer to fly. So are you also afraid when driving in the car?
Anxiety originates from ignorance!
I think the anxiety can originate from ignorance not understanding the complex system of aviation. This might trigger “what if?” catastrophic thoughts.
This starts with the ignorance of the systems of the aeroplane. Certain noises and normal flight manoeuvres can already cause unease. For example noise of the brakes, landing gear, the flaps, and the engines. Especially during takeoff, you experience a lot of different ones. The engines run at a high thrust setting, the runway might a little bumpy and the landing gear retracts with a loud “bang”. Trust me all those noises are normal. Most of you are scared of turbulences and think that they are dangerous. Please trust me they belong to the normal path of flight. Aircraft are built to withstand turbulence with ease.
Pilots always try to avoid turbulence and in case we encounter them we try to find a different level to escape the area of turbulence. This causes a spool up or down of the engines and a climb or descent to a different level.
The regulations in aviation are really strict. The authority requires that the aircraft are maintained at fixed intervals. Airlines could not afford to operate a badly maintained aircraft, which could cause them to lose their operator certificate (AOC) and of course their reputation.
Redundancy in all aspects of aviation!
Even when there happens to be a malfunction of a system, that does not mean it will end in a disaster. The aircraft are built to be flying in the air and constructed to be redundant. That means if one system fails, the aeroplane will still be safe to fly and a different system will take over it. For example, if one engine fails, the second one will keep the aeroplane in the sky and a safe landing will be possible. This is trained on regular simulator flights many times.
Maybe you have heard about the swiss cheese model before. This model of accident causation illustrates that, although many layers of defence lie between hazards and accidents. Only if there is a flaw in each layer, if aligned, can allow the accident to occur. A single mistake in one layer will not lead to an accident!
My 10 tips against the fear of flying
- Choose an airline you feel safe with or you know they have a good reputation, do not book just because the ticket is cheap
- Arrive at the airport with enough time, so you do not get stressed additionally. Minimum 2 hours prior to departure.
- Book a seat with more space, e.g. at the emergency exit
- Try not to drink alcohol and caffeine this might intense your anxiety
- When boarding let the cabin crew know that you are a little bit nervous, a short chat with them can help
- Recall that you are safe and probability is on your side
- Control your breathing inhale deeply and exhale slowly: Relaaaaax!
- Use noise-cancelling headphones, recall that flying and systems produce loud noises, listen to relaxing music and do things that distract you (food, beverages, books, music, sleeping mask)
- You are not alone! Millions of people travel by plane at the same time
- Keep in mind that the aeroplane is built to travel through the air, turbulence is a normal path of flying,
Am I going down?
I found an app “Am I Going Down?”, which claims to calculate the odds of a disaster on a particular flight. You put in three variables: the departure and arrival airports, the airline, and the type of plane used. For example, a flight from San Francisco to London Heathrow has a probability of 1 to 3.646.151 to go down. You would have to take this flight every day for 9.989 years before it crashes. Knowing the probability, which is not even worth mentioning for your particular flight, may help with your fear of flying.
I hope you will be more relaxed on your next flight, so you can enjoy the beauty of flying. Recall my 10 tips when flying next time. You might even save them on your mobile device. Now sit back, relax and enjoy your flight!
What causes you unease on a flight?
Your PilotPatrick
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