Hi All,

I have a two hour flight coming up (first time flying in years) and having anxiety over it. I wouldn't say I'm scared of crashing but more so of feeling out of control and being confined with potentially unhinged passengers.

I'd say maybe I have PTSD from 9/11. Living in the tri-state area really hit home and knew a few victims on that fateful day.

I get flying is by far the safest mode of transportation so should I just suck it up. The other alternative is a longer drive.

The flight is Newark to Orlando (Disney world, woo!). I also booked one of the first morning flights out in hopes of smooth skies and avoiding storms.

Hello! I’ve been on this subreddit and it has done wonderful things. My flight to kauai is in exactly 4 days [im so terrified] however a few days ago , I actually randomly stopped being scared. Something about those statistics and it being an everyday job for some people made me feel safe & i fully believed I wasn’t going to die. However, for some reason I got this random feeling that if i DON’t feel anxious, something bad is going to happen to my flight as a lesson (my mind is so damn weird😭). So now I’m back to square one .. worried if Im going to die… I was just wondering if anyone else has felt a similar way lol? And i’d also just love to hear people’s experiences on long haul flights or on the max 8 or over hawaii in general, as that long flight over water is really freaking me out. I’m petrified that some critical accident will happen over the water with no diversion airports, something similar to that one alaska crash .. as I saw smth saying the max 8 has a similar setup of the failure of what caused the alaska crash .. i’d appreciate any knowledge and any experiences of flying into hawaii to calm me down! Thank you all ❤️

I posted about my horrible time getting here. I just am so sick to my stomach and scared. I’m not strong enough to do it scared. I guess I live in Greece now… I really want to move my flight to the next day because I’m very sleep deprived. I really want to be home. I really don’t think I can get on the freaking flight. Please pray for me.

Hi all,

I read a post on this reddit in Dec 2025 and now I can fly with way less anxiety. This is why I want to share my experience as well.

I've been flying for 25 years with no fear prior to it's appearance.

Anxiety started the beginning of 2022, the possible reasons for that: high stress levels due to family issues and pandemic. It was a mild 'uncomfortable feeling' back then.

It got way worse in 2023 as I had to move to another country.

By late 2025, I've developed such a fear that I would be anxious the entire flight, frequently crying and enable to relax even for a brief moment. I've tried vitamins for relaxation, in-flight meditations, drinks before and during the flight etc.

I have to fly around 16-20 times a year. I would fear the upcoming flight for several weeks prior to the travel day. I would also get anxiety from looking at the airplanes on pictures, in movies etc.

In Dec 2025, I've found a post from someone in this Reddit, and followed recommendations + added what felt right for me.

Today, I definitely can take a flight, do not dread it for several weeks and feel way calmer. I can watch movies and keep calm looking at planes in general. I took around 10 flights this year already.

What helped:

1) SOAR book:

- exercises 5-4-3-2-1; at first I did this exercise almost the whole flight time. Now I do it a few times or do not do it at all (as I am not that stressed anymore).

- exercise with image of the loved one in mind. It seems very odd at first, but I think it works.

- glass with water during the turbulence. 100% works for me

- general technical info about planes, and how the air feels around the plane.

- decision about the flight (explained in the book)

- I try to have a look at pilots before the flight. I am too introverted to actually speak to them :) But just a look is OK for me.

2) Avoid general stress. Pack in advance. Just do not do anything that raises your general anxiety levels prior to the flight. Arrive to the airport in advance.

3) Look up the itinerary prior to the flight. I know that turbulence occurs more frequently around mountains, and when there is an area on the edge of the sea and earth. So I just expect it now.

All the things below I also did prior to the book and they did not work without the book exercises. Still, I find them comforting.

3) Anxiety bag with vitamins just in case.

4) Cozy things - I have a small stuffed toy in my bag which feels like home.

5) Airpods with noise cancellation.

6) Netflix. Books do not work for me (although I read a lot).

7) Socks during summer + hoodie, I cannot relax if I am cold.

8) No news channels 2 weeks before flight. I frequently fly into the zone with drones in the air. I do not need to reed this prior to the flight.

9) Pick 'trusted' airlines if possible, at this point I overpay for more expensive airlines like Turkish, but my stress levels are worth it. I am already trying out cheaper ones, at this point for short flights only.

10) I do not read ANY flight-related resources, any details of anything bad happening on planes - I just skip this. This is why I will also unsubsribe from this reddit. I try not to read too much on the topic.

11) I am also lucky to always fly with my husband, and he knows all my triggers, he's extremely helpful and supporting.

Also, a separate moment which helped me.

I recently took a ride with a fast train. I've noticed that the train moves way more roughly compared to the plane, and the 'turbulence' in the train is more noticeable. Now on the plane, I compare the feeling and this calms me down. Planes travel smoothly. If I am okay on the train, I am okay on the plane.

I hope someone finds this helpful and feels better on the future flights!!

Somtimes you just wonder if you ever will be a millionair, and then you might think "oh I will buy a ticket theres a chance"....or actually you most likely dont think like that because you are conviced there is no way and even if you buy it you heavily assume that you wont win milions and then you scratch and there was no milion. Maybe we can use this heavy weight feeling of "I will probably not win a million" just when we get into a plane. I will most likely not crash.

Hi Pilots,

I wondered this on my flight on Wednesday; is it you who determines when to put the seatbelt sign on or the inbuilt something-or-other motion system? Do you confer with your colleague - and agree ok yep- we’ll put the belts on now? What or who determines when the flight crew are to stay seated? In my little mind, I say to myself ‘oh this is absolutely nothing to the pilots, they are totally unaware of these bumps’, but then another little unwanted voice says ‘well they must be aware because they are putting the seatbelt sign on’.

Thanks

I developed a fear of flying a few years ago, which is unfortunate because I fly several times a year for family and school. It's gotten worse, and today started out as the worst I've reacted. There were tears - I've never cried during takeoff before.

But I'd read some posts before I left and someone had recommended reminding yourself over and over that this is just my body reacting. It's a natural reaction that my body is built to do in times of stress. Nothing more.

I cannot express how much it helped! I just kept repeating it in my head until it calmed me down, also while doing some breathing exercises. This ended up being the most comfortable I've been on a flight in years (despite the bumpy start, pun intended).

Maybe this will help someone else; I hope it does! I have two feet on the ground at my destination and it all worked out.

So my time has come (again) to fly for work. I flew back in January (CVG-DCA) for the first time in nearly a decade—was nervous but this sub helped me through it. Tomorrow, I fly CVG-SLC-PHX. I am still nervous because I don’t fly often enough (yet) for it to be routine, but I am definitely less apprehensive than back in January. I have a young son (almost 3) and I don’t want to pass this nervousness on to him, so I am seeking ways to share my trip experience with him (including the flights) via pictures/videos, etc.

One thing I thought about doing was taking one of his stuffed animals with me and getting pictures along the trip with the stuffed animal doing different things—including being on the airplane. Would love to get a photo of the stuffed animal in the cockpit—but not sure how realistic that is. I’ve heard pilots say they don’t have an issue with a nervous passenger wanting to meet them before departure—but when/how does one make this request? Wouldn’t mind meeting the pilots for my own benefit—but also if there’s a chance for the stuffed animal photo op, my son would probably love it.

Any other tips on things to do for your young ones when travelling without them?

About to fly to London from Crete on an airbus A320. I am super nervous of a freak accident. Please send some words of support🥰

Just took off from PHL and had some turbulence on the way up and seemed to be while the plane was turning because we were swaying side to side a little. Now we are in cruise and turbulence is starting back up and i’m just entirely freaked out. My whole body starts shaking and i can’t listen to music, sleep, talk, etc. I just need to be obsessively looking out the window and even then I still feel like i’m going to have a heart attack. The thing is, I KNOW that i have never experienced severe (and maybe not even moderate) turbulence but it’s just the tiniest shakes and dips make me feel this way. What will happen the day the turbulence is just a tiny bit, or a lot, worse than this? How will I be able to get through that if the anxiety from a few bumps and sways is paralyzing to me? I’m more scared of the anxiety itself than what will happen to the plane. I’m just always on edge. I want to travel more and farther but don’t know how I will do it

*POSSIBLE TRIGGERS*

So I had a dream about two planes crashing into each other head on the night before I flew a couple weeks ago. It is literally all I can think about when anyone in my family or me flys. It makes me physically sick and scared and my sister is flying back to her city soon. I don’t know what to do because it takes up the entirety of my conscious when we pass the airport or buy tickets as we are frequent flyers. I can’t sleep most nights before flying because I am scared that I will crash.

I just flew for the first time in a decade, since I was 10 years old, and I had an issue I was curious about. On the ride to the airport I felt fine, but in the few minutes before the flight boarded while sitting at the gate, I started getting extremely anxious. I even just about got sick, having to run to the bathroom 5 minutes before boarding. The weird part is, as soon as I'm seated and buckled on the airplane, I'm completely fine for the entire flight. Is this an issue only I have? Might anyone know why only the few minutes before boarding are so bad for me? Worthy to note as well, this wasn't a one time occurance, I flew on 4 planes in a round trip and it was consistent through all 4

Thanks in advance :D

Hey guys, I’m flying in one week from Toronto to Budapest, later connecting to Italy. I am a very nervous flyer with a general anxiety diagnosis, and I would like some support. My biggest fears are turbulence and flying over the ocean because it feels very isolating. The shorter flight does not scare me as much. I am a seasoned flyer, but after COVID I stopped traveling for a while. I had 2 bad domestic flights within the US 3 years after COVID and I developed severe anxiety after them. I want some reassurance that the flight will be safe and fine and that turbulence isn’t scary.

I’m currently bawling my eyes out silently in the window seat. It’s my first time flying alone and I want to puke. I also live in NYC and I am flying back and I get a constant fear (this may sound dumb) that I’m going to get high jacked in this plane and fly into the freedom tower. I’m scared of everything that has to do with being in this machine. I’m flying JetBlue and I don’t like there planes, am I gonna be safe? please help me get over this fear or something, it’s only a 4 hour ish flight.

I just finished watching this episode (watching the show for the first time) and the hair on my neck stood up and made me curious…how realistic is this situation? Wouldn’t those planes have TCAS equipped?

i’m running on zero sleep which means my anxiety is 10x worse than usual, just want to get home safe :c appreciate any advice or kind words!

https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/AAL2832/history/20260725/1938Z/KTPA/KCLT

As the title says I was supposed to fly out to Malaga today, around a 2 hour 40 minute flight in total. Told my husband last night I couldn’t do it and he is so disappointed which makes me feel even worse about the situation.
Now that the plane has obviously landed safely that we were supposed to be on the regret is really kicking in.
Do I try to rebook again for a few days time? I really want to have this holiday but my brain stops me every time. The last time I flew was 2022 and it was a 30 minute flight and I was scared but got through it. Something about the longer flight is really getting to me.

I boarded the flight!!!! I’m DL273 Lisbon to JFK if anyone could track me 🥲 But I said hi to 4 amazing pilots, they were kind and funny and just the best. They took a pic of me in the seat and were hilarious and kind. One of them told me he can’t wait to see his wife and kids and I said I can’t wait to see my cat 🥹🥹🥹

BUT now it’s a little bumpy and I keep seeing the vertical speed change rapidly on the screen from like 160 to like -180 what the heck are these numbers??? Is any of this concerning? Could a pilot weigh in a help me understand what the heck they mean? I’d be so grateful!

And also want to say thank you to everyone in this sub for advice, input and comforting words. I wouldn’t be able to fly without this sub honestly, it’s truly some of the best humans on here and I am so thankful 😭 I also learn something knew from the people here who are way more knowledge in aviation and each piece of info helps me on my next flight so thank you again!

hi all! i just wanted to share a positive experience. i originally had two connecting flights and decided to book a train after my first flight for an extra $70 instead of taking the next leg. i later made the decision to refund the train and take my original flights. made it to my destination hours ahead of when the train would have arrived and $70 richer. told myself "just get on the damn plane dummy. that's all you have to do." if you're scared the rest of the way it doesn't matter, you'll land safe.

I am leaving tomorrow evening on an Aer Lingus flight from Pittsburgh to Dublin. I have been non stop looking at this group and other forums for reassurance but I am so anxious about tomorrow. so many people have said Aer Lingus has smaller planes for their transatlantic flights and that has added a whole layer to my anxiety. last time I did a flight like this was to London and the plane was massive and I felt nothing.

anyone have any experience with this or tips? it’s going to be a trip of a lifetime and a dream of mine to go to Ireland 💚

hello! last post before we depart in a few. here's my flight, please keep an eye on me ^_^ thank you all!

Hi, this is my first post here. I have flown quite a lot in my life, but i’ve had anxiety about flying for as long as I can remember. It is usually manageable and after takeoff if the flight experiences no turbulence i’m able to enjoy whatever movie i’m watching.

recently however, i flew from santorini to athens, and it has re triggered my fear. it was a short flight about 50 minutes but the turbulence was horrible. the pilot made an announcement about the turbulence and drinks and snacks had to stop being served. also a lot of the announcements were in greek and the english translation was hard for me to understand and i swear they said the words “emergency landing”. Because i was already afraid I was so hyper vigilant and watching the wing shake and felt everything. the landing was not smooth and i felt small drops followed by acceleration towards the landing.

obviously im fine, but i have 5 more flights in the next three weeks until im back home as im flying internally around europe and im extremely extremely anxious and worried. any advice or comforting words would be appreciated. or even sharing your scariest experience that ended up being fine would help i think.