Fear of Flying

There is a well-known true story of former boxing heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali when he once caught a flight across the USA. After noticing that “The Greatest”, didn’t have his seatbelt fastened, the efficient flight attendant asked him to buckle up.

Ali roared in defiance, “Superman don’t need no seatbelt!”

To which the flight attendant responded, “Yeah well, Superman don’t need no plane!”

For many people, flying in an airplane is as simple as catching a cab. For others however, they would prefer the option of getting a lift home with a red-caped superhero than board a 500 tonne piece of metal that defies gravity 41,000 feet above the ground.

According to the American Statistical Association (ASA), aerophobia or fear of flying is estimated to affect as many as one in four people, although a full-blown phobia is significantly less common.  A fear of flying is a level of anxiety so great that it prevents a person from travelling by air, or causes great distress to a person when he or she is compelled to travel by air. At its worst aerophobia can include panic attacks or vomiting at the mere sight or mention of an aircraft or air travel.

Generally with aerophobia sufferers, the taxi ride to the airport is a pleasant one and even being accosted by flower-selling hippies while making the long walk down the length of the airport is shrugged off. Yet as soon as they are within sight of the big bird of the sky, the fear starts to kick in and gets worse just before boarding the plane. This is called anticipatory anxiety.

Unfortunately when the captain’s dulcet tones announce “to sit back, relax and enjoy the flight”, the anticipation is the in-flight movie will be a classic disaster flick like “Airport ‘77” or similar!

Fear of flying often gets worse if you have other phobias. People with claustrophobia often experience a fear of flying due to the confined quarters and lack of personal space. 

Those with social phobia or fear of germs often develop a fear of flying, because they will be forced to spend protracted amounts of time with strangers. A general fear of heights can also lead to a fear of flying.  

Still others can become testy if there is not enough alcohol fuelling their own in-house flight!

Fortunately, the fear of flying is relatively easy to treat, even without knowing the underlying cause. If you don’t suffer from other physical or psychological disorders, you may be a good candidate for a fear of flying course. These classes typically last two or three days, often over a weekend, and use techniques of cognitive-behavioural therapy or CBT to treat a large group simultaneously.

To ease the minds of those who get a case of the pre-flight jitters, here is a final quote from the man who wears his underpants on the outside, after saving Lois Lane and other members of the media from a plane crash, 

“Well, I hope this experience hasn't put any of you off flying. Statistically speaking, it's still the safest way to travel.”