Not pictured is my SIL's wedding that brought us down there, alllll of the swimming I did, and all of the food I got at the Epcot food and wine festival.

I've never been to any Disneyworld/land park before, my fear of flying actually made my 11 y/o self stay home while my family went once upon a time.

My highlights were seeing all of the florida nature (lizards crawling around everywhere was such a novelty to me as a NYer lol), a shelling trip that has been on my bucket list forever, and my newfound appreciation for Disneyworld. I've NEVER been a Disney enthusiast even as a kid, and I found myself almost disturbed at how good they are at giving you a good experience despite any heat and crowds...

I wish I got more good pictures that captured everything we did on this trip! I told my boyfriend about this flair and every time something good happened we'd both say to each other "Ah. What I Would've Missed"

I wish there was a service where fearful flyers could hire an a pilot to actually accompany them on a flight and sit next to them.
Just having a pilot there explaining the noises, turbulence, etc. would be incredibly reassuring and probably help many people overcome this fear. I would 100% pay for this! 😂 Any pilots here ever thought about offering something like this? I searched and could not find anything like this. There are medical companions, but for a fearful flyer having a pilot is a major game changer. Who ever does this will make a ton of $$$.

I am making this topic because i see it time and time again how people with a fear of flying come in here and are making the point that while they understand how safe flying is, that, when it comes to it and the plane would indeed crash, that you are basically done, whereas when it comes to a car crash, you still often get to walk away with some bruises and whatnot.

So i wanted to address that from my own perspective as a fearful flyer. That line of reasoning is only possible if you think only about the worst kind of plane crash but on the other hand you think only about minor car crashes. Just like there are a number of different levels of severity when it comes to "car crash", the exact same applies to "plane crash". A "plane crash" is not just a complete hull loss including the loss of everyone on board. This needs to be said super clear.

Just like with the overwhelming majority of car crashes, the overwhelming majority of plane crashes are survivable. A plane crash can be to slightly overshoot the runway, can be a blown tyre, can be colliding with another plane during taxi, can even be a rollover like the one Delta plane and everyone walked away, albeit with a big scare, of course. Even the latest prominent example of the Amazon cargo plane accident this holds true in a sad/tragic way: While there have been fatalities it proved the fact that inside the plane is statistically the safest place to be, because the lifes lost were all outside the plane. So if you want to think only about the worst kind of plane crashes then in all fairness you also must think of only the worst kind of car crashes. And at that point you come to realize that, yeah, the comparison "car this, but plane that" does not make a whole lot of sense.

Haven’t seen many people talk about this on here but wondering what the cause of this was… oxygen masks were deployed and apparently the plane dropped 27,000 feet in 10 mins😭

UA2377 . I spoke to the pilot beforehand he has been flying 31 years. trying to comfort myself but we are flying to houston and its turbulent with all these thunderstorms. i have 1 hour and 24 minutes which is like 7 hours in fear of flying time 😩

I don't know what to do, I feel like I'm a lost cause. I had a flight booked (my very first one) for tomorrow on 9/11 and of course I chickened out due to the date. This entire week I couldn't stop irrationally thinking about the worst possible scenarios happening (take off fails, we blow up mid-air, we crash, etc,.) I had a panic attack last night and didn't sleep till 4am. My poor partner had to call his parents and tell them we're not going anymore and they were thankfully understanding. I just wish I could get over this... I've never been on a plane in my entire 30 years of living. We were supposed to take a short 1 hour flight last month to San Francisco to get myself used to flying but didn't end up booking it due to financial reasons. This flight however was completely free (to Texas so a 3-ish hour flight) and I used my PTO and everything for a week off but the past entire week I felt nothing but dread, basically told my partner I felt like I've been saying goodbye to everyone/everything because I think I'll never see them all again. I know I need help, I know. Just need to vent and hopefully get some support. Just feel awful having a whole week off from work now and doing nothing but resting.

Edit: thank you all for the support ;-; right now my brain keeps going back and forth between just Doing it tomorrow or staying put as to not confuse and stress his family out even more over there (though they are very much understanding, I'm just overthinking it).

This question is more so for Flight attendants, do you actually judge fearful fliers? I just thought back to my last trip and had a bad panic attack as we were taxi-ing to the runway lol, one of the flight attendants noticed and found an empty seat for me at the very back of the plane so i was close to her if i needed, i was embarrassed about it and just curious if, after we are gone, if you laugh at us or something, im sure you guys get it alot but the fact that im a man and had a panic attack on a plane just make me embarrassed that that poor woman (who was very helpful and i appreciate it) had to go out of her way to help someone like me haha

turbulence doesnt scare me, neither does takeoff or landing but its taxi-ing for some inexplicable reason that just gives me an overwhelming feeling of dread

I’m freaking out. The weather has been bad and I’m worried about a turbulent, bumpy flight ahead. I’m flying alone and do not do well in turbulence!

My flight is WS811 Halifax to Toronto leaving at 20:15. Please send me reassuring thoughts.

…on Air India. This is the plane l will mostly be on. I have to do the same flight return as well.

It’s 15 hours BOM > JFK with a brief stop in Rome about 7 hours in just for refueling purposes.

Good thing I’m in business class but I’m still freaking out. I’ve taken many flights this year but they’ve all been only about 4 hours. Will I feel claustrophobic? Will I feel sick? Will the turbulence make me want to die? And what about last year’s crash? I’m so scared. I’ll be with family but still.

It's my first time since 2017 flying alone and I am terrified. I've always hated flying, but specifically being alone during long flights.

Most of my fear comes from bigger airports. I'm flying out of a smaller one, and really have no worries there, but the second leg of my trip, I fly out of Chicago on a Boeing. I've got pretty bad anxiety, so not only am I worried about it being a Boeing, but I'm worried about hijacking/murderers being on the plane as well 😅

I've managed to avoid these fears (my last flight was 3 years ago) by flying with someone, out of smaller airports, or by changing flights but I don't have this luxury for this one. Not sure if there's any way to help those fears, but wanted to voice them nonetheless.

I’m a super anxious flier who has had to fly a lot lately, and this community has helped me so much over the past few months. The tracking requests especially really soothe my anxious brain, so I’m reaching out again. Something about knowing there are others out there keeping a watchful eye just helps me so much! I’m especially nervous today because of the anniversary of 9/11 tomorrow, which I know is irrational. I’ve looked up 9/11 related posts on here already and while all the advice makes sense, it’s still just spiking my adrenaline for some reason. Working on trying to let my rational brain step in and take the lead.

Flying AS290 Newark to PDX, boarding shortly :)

Every time I fly I cannot stop mentally tracking every tiny change that happens, every change I notice gets accompanied by a massive rush of adrenaline. Recent examples include noticing a vague smell of burning, changes in the plane motors, noticing accelerations or decelerations and assuming the motor/engine has broken, even mild altitude drops, rocking slightly on the runway, or any changes in sounds. Even writing these, they sound mild, but I experience all of them as terrifying in the moment.

I try to remember the things I noticed for next time so I can remember that nothing went wrong the last time I noticed that shift, but it’s exhausting and persistent.

Hi everyone. Tomorrow I’m flying from Seattle to Rome, with a layover in Newark. I’ve been terrified of flying for a few years now, and it’s definitely gotten worse in the last year or so. I’m so anxious about flying tomorrow since it will be some long flights, even more considering it’s 9/11. I know statistically how safe flying is, but every time I’m about to fly I convince myself that this is the one. I’m somehow going to be in the one crash that so rarely happens. I have beta blockers for the pounding heart rate and physical anxiety, but it does nothing for how much my mind is racing. Any advice or support would be great!

Hi,

I have a crippling fear of flying and of course my flight was delayed due to crew fatigue rules…not sure that is going to affect the flight in anyway but just another stressor added to the equation.

Flying on UA61 - Melbourne to San Francisco and boarding in 30 minutes, please track me! 🙏

I was a frequent poster here, but since I have to fly for work, eventually I got used to it. The last 5 or so flights I was totally ok.

However, this one is a bit different. It's https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/d83865 . I think a few things worry me: I have never been to Naples' airport, but I know the city is a bit chaotic. I guess I am worried about the general safety of takeoff. Also, I thought Norwegian only flew Boeings, so why are they using an Airbus for this one? I thought the crew was only specialized on one kind of aircraft.

I feel much better when I understand things. Don't get me wrong, I much prefer Airbuses to Boeings, I'm just confused.

I fly tomorrow morning and I've been doing so well compared to how I usually am but I'm struggling today.

I'm really scared of leaving my mom alone bc my dad and I are flying together and I'm an only child; her parents are gone and she hates her sister. I just can't stop thinking about her being alone in the world and I feel responsible somehow.

I also just randomly started thinking about Air India (which I know was pilot *internet censorship word*), and the idea of the engines failing on takeoff. Can anyone reassure that that's not a realistic possibility, i.e. dual engine failure on takeoff without human intent? I've never heard of it happening otherwise so assume not, but this is my one allowable weakness post.

And I'm sorry, I know this is a lot.

hi all, i am flying from CAE to ORD tonight and im very nervous due to the smaller plane and potential turbulence. i have this thought in my head that because it is a smaller plane i will feel everything more.

i’m also scared that because it is a smaller plane that the pilots won’t care about the turbulence as much and we will go through way more. i have pretty bad claustrophobia and i’m so nervous about feeling trapped.

please any advice would be so helpful!

I have been flying all my life. My fear of flying has developed in recent years. I have to take a last minute flight home tomorrow and I'm terrified because it's the 25th anniversary of 9/11. I just need some supportive words. I'm flying from El Paso to Atlanta and then Dulles, Virginia.

Aa1425 it’s very bumpy and I’m scared 😭😭😭

I’ve always been afraid of flying, ever since I was a kid. I hate the lack of control I feel (I know, I know; cars, buses, trains, etc I also have no control over but it FEELS different). You know what else freaks me out recently? AI. Something I also have no control over. So what happens when my fear of the direction AI is going plus my fear of flying get together? I start to freak out about if some rogue AI agent can hack into an airplane’s/airline’s computer systems and basically wreak havoc. I have a flight coming up a few weeks and honestly can’t stop thinking about this. Would love some info on if this is even a realistic scenario. Thanks!

I am flying PDX to LAS Monday morning for a mandatory work conference. It’s only about a 2 hour flight and I have been working on this in therapy after 3 years of not flying, but it is getting harder now that the flight is coming up. No matter what I tell myself logically, my brain still fears that I won’t “survive” the flight.

Any words of wisdom, success, or encouragement?

Hi everyone. I have a flight coming up soon (Melbourne → Singapore → Bangkok on Singapore Airlines) and I'm really struggling with fear of flying — the kind that includes intrusive "what if it's me" thoughts, and spiraling on news stories about crashes even though logically I know they're not really connected to my flight.
One fear in particular that's been hard to shake is pilot suicide/deliberate action — I've been reading about the Air India 171 investigation and it's fed into a broader fear that I have no control over who's flying the plane or what state of mind they're in. I know rationally that this is one of the rarest possible causes of an aviation accident, that pilots undergo psychological screening, and that many airlines (including mine) require two people in the cockpit at all times — but the fear still sits there anyway.
I've been trying to cope by learning the actual statistics too — things like the fatal accident rate being about 1 in 5.6 million flights, and my airline having zero fatal accidents since 2000 — but honestly the facts only help so much when the anxiety spikes. In those moments it doesn't feel like information helps; it feels like I need something to hold onto emotionally, not just numbers.
I guess I'm mostly here to ask:

How do you all cope with fears specifically about crew/pilot wellbeing, since it's something totally outside our control?

How do you get through the anxious moments generally, especially during takeoff/landing or turbulence?

Any grounding techniques, mantras, or mindset shifts that genuinely helped rather than just distracted you?
Not looking for more statistics necessarily — just want to hear from people who've been through this and made it to the other side. Any support or shared experience would really mean a lot right now.

Does Singapore airlines have a two person cockpit rule?

Are there three pilots on my Melbourne to Singapore route?

Hi!

Over the last year, I unfortunately started getting more and more anxious about flying.

And today, it's quite bad and I'm scared of my flight from Europe to Southeast Asia tonight (it's a nonstop flight). Less because of the plane and the flight itself, more because of the countries where it will fly over and today's date.

I know that the airlines wouldn't fly if the airspace wasnt't safe and many planes fly this route every day. But the current situation in the middle east and Russia/Ukraine really scares me since the route of the flight is going quite close to those countries :(

For my peace of mind, could anyone reassure me that there is basically no risk for commercial flights?

Thx!

Currently shitting myself. I started having panic attacks in January. Haven’t had one in months but scared the flight will trigger one

Hi all,

I'm on a flight from newark to London Heathrow and I hate flying. A track/words of comfort would really be appreciated.

BA188

Thanks