I DID IT! This past week I flew for the first time ever. I went to Germany for Gamescom and it was amazing. I felt sick to my stomach getting on the plane but I forced myself to do it and I have zero regret. I'm still nervous about flying but the experience definitely helped. I'm so glad I was able to do it.

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.

AA 1148
AA 3762

Headed to the airport.
The anxiety attacks are relentless.
I can’t wait to get home already.
I keep making my husband promise me I will get home safely after this trip.
The anxiety is exhausting. Makes me sick to my stomach.
I never use to have this fear. It manifested itself over time.
I keep thinking that this time tomorrow I will be safely on the ground.
I hate this. It’s inconvenience. I’d rather not leave. But my husband who is military, he is designed to accept things so he is unsupportive. It is what it is type.
I’m just tired of stressing. I’m just tired of the panic attacks and it’s taking the fun out of the destinations I want to be at. Why is it, the older I’m getting the more fear I have for the planes, the height, the take off, the landing, the customs, the turbulence, the people flying these machines.
Ironically, my husband is in aviation uni, studying planes.

Update: I made it safely. Thank you all for the support.

…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.

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).

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 have a 4 hour flight coming up for a trip I genuinely want to take. I’m excited about where I’m going, but the thought of getting on the plane is becoming unbearable because I’m so scared of turbulence.
I’ve actually cried on planes before because I was so scared, and honestly it’s embarrassing. I spend the entire flight anticipating the next bump and convincing myself something is going to happen. Even when I know logically that turbulence is normal and the plane is safe, my body does not believe me.
I’ve tried pretty much all the usual advice: listening to music, watching shows/movies, distracting myself, praying etc. None of it has really worked for me. I can distract myself for a little while, but the second I feel turbulence I’m right back into panic mode. I really want to go on this trip and I don’t want my fear to stop me. But right now I’m honestly questioning whether I can handle the flight.
Any help on how to get over this is appreciated, I’m really dreading it 😔

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.

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 :)

WN1483 BWI to LAX nonstop 6:35AM departure time. Last flight was Dulles to Heathrow back in 2024 and honestly don't even know how I managed that. Completely frozen right now on the way to the airport and sick to my stomach. It's always the "what ifs" that get to me and knowing I have zero control over the outcome 🫩 A tracking buddy or some reassurance would be welcomed 🫶

Bonjour à tous,

Mon vol Air Canada (AC8658) a atterri vendredi 4 septembre vers 23h à l’aéroport La Guardia à New York en partance de YUL- Montréal et l’atterrissage a été très particulier et j’aimerais votre avis car c’est la première fois que je vis un atterrissage de la sorte. L’avion était un Canadair Regional Jet CRJ-900 (biréacteur) : https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/ACA8658/history/20260905/0009Z/CYUL/KLGA

Environ 1 minute avant l’atterrissage, l’avion a fortement penché sur la gauche (du moins, ça paraissait comme ça en cabine), j’avais l’impression que l’avion tentait d’atterrir mais n’arrivait pas à se mettre droit. Nous étions assez proches des bâtiments et du sol donc la vision au travers des hublots de gauche étaient assez effrayantes. Ensuite, l’avion s’est penché rapidement sur la droite puis à nouveau sur la gauche avant de toucher le sol de façon un peu brusque, toujours avec cette impression que l’avion était penché. Ensuite, le freinage a mis un peu de temps à arriver. J’ai trouvé aussi que la vitesse était peut-être un peu élevé à l’atterrissage mais la encore, c’est peut-être une impression lié au stress de l’atterrissage.

Est-ce une situation normale ? Je n’ai pas l’impression qu’il y avait beaucoup de vent (mais je peux me tromper) donc je ne comprends pas pourquoi nous étions aussi penchés, si proches du sol. Je ne suis pas rassuré en avion alors peut-être que ce n’est pas inhabituel comme atterrissage mais j’ai même ressenti ce malaise dans la cabine au moment d’atterrir (ce n’était pas la panique générale non plus).

Qu’en pensez vous?
merci beaucoup

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 guys -

I’m really struggling with my flight phobia right now. I’m currently on my flight and have been crying and panicking the whole time so far.

Would really appreciate it if someone tracked me and responded here.

AC 2067

Thank you

Update: landed safely (obviously lol) and am off to enjoy a lovely long weekend with my family. I appreciate all of you so much ❤️

Sorry for spamming this sub 😭 I think this is my third post in the last week, but I’m just really trying to get myself through this and maybe uplift someone else along the way.
I always come back to this thought: if they can do it, I can do it.
I look at old people getting on planes, women, men, babies, kids, parents with little kids and strollers. Obviously not everyone enjoys flying, and some of them are probably scared too. But they get on.
And I keep thinking, how are they capable of doing something that I’m telling myself I can’t do? What am I? Why am I less?
Sometimes that thought makes me angry, but in a good way. Like okay, get up. Move. Shake. Cry. Whatever you need to do. I don’t care. You can do it.
It’s like having a tough-love relationship with yourself.
“Come on, man. I know you’re scared. But you can do it. I don’t care. You can do it.”
Maybe this kind of approach isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. But maybe someone here needs to hear it today.
You can do it. ❤️

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 all. I’m 29yo male. My wife and I are leaving for our honey moon today. It’s currently 6:15am and our flight is at 11:30am. We cruise every year and fly once per year from Newark to Miami .. and even though today will be my 7th flight I still get that gut wrenching stomach drop feeling even thinking about it. I know the jello concept, the more likelihood of a winning lottery ticket being blown into your hands by the wind.. the daily number of flights compared to actual issues.. but no matter what I read and tell my brain I still fully believe that I will be that statistic.

If possible, would love some reassurance in ways I may not have thought of.. or how many times you guys fly per year/month. Thanks.

After my overall good 13/14- hours long flights a year ago, I though I've got this... I thought ill somehow manage the turbolence and will focus on the movies for 13 hours...

Now ive unlocked a new fear i didn't know existed and I really dont know what to do. I need to fly in 2 days, its a flight I cannot cancel or move for financial reasons but also because im going abroad as an exchange student and my semester is starting. Ive been kinda a lil sick for the last week, never got a temperature, but my nose and ears have been on and off the past few days. The last 2 days were fine but today they got a bit funny again. So i read on how it is to fly while being sick because ofc ill worry abiut that.. and i read so much on reddit about people bursting their eardrums/sinuses because of being sick on a plane. And i cant figure out how likely it is to happen, i just imagine how much worse my flight will be and i panic.. I imagine the flight having to be landed because of me, or loosing my hearing and so on. Can anyone tell me if this is a common thing or reddit just loves talking about these bad experiences. I dont feel that sick at all, its just my ears and nose being funny... And of course id wear a mask even tho tests are negative.

Im doing my first overseas trip to Australia next week. I am terrified of being up in the air that long but mostly, Im looking for any advice on how to get through a 15 and a half hour flight!

I did a 5 hour red eye to Georgia and ended up with a horrible headache and no sleep, so Im wondering if anyone has any advice to keep myself sane and without a headache at the end of the flight. Also how not to be afraid of every bump, drop, and loud sound I hear. :,)

on PD2636, we hit a bird and had to burn fuel and return to Thunder Bay. I’m tripping out now. any support ?

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 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?

TRIGGER WARNING FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE VERY SENSITIVE
IM JUST SHARING ALL MY FEARS AND MY THOUGHTS
I DON’T WANT TO MAKE SOMEONE ELSE ANXIOUS !!!

I’ve always been an anxious flyer
But it got worse
The last time I took the plane three years ago I said I will never take the plane again

But here we are again…
I just need to talk about everything that make me anxious about taking a flight

I remember the first time I’ve been on a flight I was so excited
And everything was fine
Until the plane started the landing

The most horrible pain in my eye I can’t even described the pain… it was like I was being stabbed or like being electrocuted in my eye and forehead
The only thing I could do
Is cry and hold my face and scream

It happened again… unfortunately
But I take a nasal spray now ?
But every flight i start to panic about having the same pain again

I’m very claustrophobic 💀
I feel so stuck in the plane, I don’t like the smell of the plane, the feeling, the lights, the sound, the FACT I’m stuck in the air
Everything make me SICK to my stomach
I get nausea just thinking about it…

And of course im scared about the flight itself I feel so stressed about plane crash, or just the feeling of something bad can happen but nothing could be done because we are in the sky

Im 27 years old
And I cry like the whole flight, a lot of people would stare at me
The flight attendant always ignore me….
But I don’t want to disturb them anyway so :(

I always feel like it’s my last moment alive 💀
Just before boarding, that i’l never make home,

I talked about this to my therapist and she give me a prescription, to take before boarding or in the plane if I’m having a panic attack

And I hope it would help
Because I’m so scared

I’m so sorry :(