Fear of flying: New polling suggests 65% of respondents are more nervous in light of recent plane crashes

It’s been one concerning incident after another when it comes to passenger plane travel over the past few months. From a deadly collision in the sky above Washington, D.C., that resulted in the loss of 67 people to a Delta Air Lines connection jet that flipped over in Toronto, it’s been a tragic few months for the airline industry.

According to a new poll commissioned by TPG and conducted by The Harris Poll, most Americans (72%) believe airline travel is safe now, but nearly two in three (65%) say they are more nervous about flying in light of the recent safety incidents.

Astonishingly, nearly nine in 10 Americans (88%) admit to a fear of flying.

Fear of flying

TPG commissioned the new survey to learn more about how Americans are feeling about air travel in the wake of the two recent crashes and news about more close calls at airports.

We wanted to know if Americans still feel that flying is safe.

While more than one in four (27%) say air travel is “very safe,” another 28% do not believe airline travel is safe right now; 8% believe it is “not safe at all.”

Men are more likely than women to say air travel is safe right now (79% versus 66%), and women are more likely than men to say recent airline safety incidents have made them feel more nervous about flying.

Of the respondents, 94% said they were aware of recent flight incidents, and 65% said they had become more nervous as a result.

The Harris Poll found the following results:

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"About 2 in 3 Americans (65%) say recent airline safety incidents make them more nervous about flying, with 1 in 4 (25%) saying they are much more nervous about flying now. About 3 in 10 Americans (29%) say the recent airline safety incidents do not make them any more nervous about flying, and 6% have not heard of any recent incidents."

In our survey conducted from Feb. 28 to March 4, 51% of respondents said they are nervous when flying in an airplane, and 20% said they are “very nervous.”

Despite that high number, 52% of respondents said the fear has never affected their travel plans.

Meanwhile, more than two in five Americans say they are not nervous, with 19% saying they are “not at all nervous.”

Impact on travel

More than one in three (36%) Americans admit that their fear of flying has led them to change their travel plans; 22% said they took an alternative form of transportation, and 11% have actually canceled plans entirely due to a fear of flying.

The poll found that 73% of respondents have upcoming travel plans.

Harris Poll reports that more than half of those passengers are making changes to upcoming travel plans because of the recent incidents. Among the examples of changed plans: taking shorter flight routes and using different forms of transportation, like driving.

“About 1 in 4 future travelers will change their upcoming travel plans by choosing an alternative form of transportation (29%) or taking a direct flight (25%). About 1 in 6 future travelers say they will delay their travel (16%) or switch to a different airline (e.g., one that hasn’t experienced a recent incident) (16%). About 1 in 10 future travelers will cancel upcoming travel (12%) or use medication/different medication on upcoming flights (11%).”

Measures to combat fear of flying

Some 68% of those surveyed said they take measures to combat their fear of flying, with 43% of respondents saying they use distractions like music, movies, games or books and 30% noting that they choose a direct flight to avoid spending extra time in the air.

About 18% of respondents said they meditate, while 22% said they use medication, whether it's an over-the-counter option or prescription medicine. Another 14% said they consume alcohol to cope with their fear of flying, with men being more likely to use alcohol than women (17% versus 11%).

Younger adults (ages 18 to 34) are much more likely than those ages 55 and older to use medications or drugs to soothe their nerves (16% versus 4%).

Bottom line

A large number of Americans are afraid of flying, according to The Harris Poll in a new survey commissioned by TPG.

That usually doesn’t stop people from flying, but recent safety incidents are definitely affecting the public. A whopping 65% of respondents say they are more nervous about flying after the recent crashes and close calls.

People are more afraid of flying right now, and some are even changing or canceling their plans to fly.

More than half of those surveyed are also making alternative travel arrangements. If folks really do change their flying patterns, that's a big deal and could impact the aviation industry financially.

We will be watching closely.

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Survey method: This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by The Harris Poll on behalf of The Points Guy from Feb. 28 to March 4 among 2,092 adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.