You are not alone if you are anxious about boarding a plane, whether it is your first time or you’re a regular traveler. The good news is that there are resources available to help you.
I recently attended the British Airways Flying with Confidence course, which has helped over 50,000 people conquer their fear of flying and boasts a 98% success rate across its almost 40-year history.
The full-day program at a hotel near London’s Heathrow Airport started with a presentation by senior British Airways pilots explaining how planes fly, how pilots operate them, and the rigorous training pilots must undertake.
For example, did you know that turbulence is uncomfortable but not dangerous? Or that the wings enable the aircraft to fly, not the engines?
After a hot lunch was served, giving course attendees the opportunity to ask one-on-one questions of the numerous pilots, cabin crew members and even the cheery airport chaplain in attendance, the afternoon session was conducted by a psychologist. He explained the psychology of a fear of flying, technically called aerophobia, and walked the class through a guided relaxation exercise.
Finally, we were escorted in small groups to the nearby terminal to board a special chartered British Airways “flight to nowhere” that took off from Heathrow with all of the course staff members on board to calmly and carefully explain every bell, bump and task happening in the cockpit. After a 30-minute joyride over Greater London, the plane returned to Heathrow to delighted cheers from the cabin full of the now-graduated attendees.
British Airways also offers online-only Flying with Confidence courses if you can’t travel to the U.K. to take them in person.
Here are some more resources to become a more successful traveler:
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