Is flying phobia common?

Aerophobia is a fear of flying. It's very common, affecting more than 25 million adults in the U.S. Psychotherapy can usually help people overcome their fear and fly without extreme anxiety or panic attacks.



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Fear of heights or crashes, or not understanding how flight works, may also play a part, Farchione says. And flying is a uniquely terrifying activity for many people because they know that if fear or anxiety strikes during the trip, there's little they can do, he says.

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One of the best ways to overcome your fear is by talking to someone with experience flying. They can help you understand how an airplane works and what to expect during a flight. Once you understand what goes into flying a plane, you will be less likely to feel anxious about it.

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7 simple tricks to beat flight anxiety
  1. Know your triggers. Figuring out what triggers the onset of fear is important in conquering flight anxiety. ...
  2. Check the forecast. ...
  3. Distract yourself. ...
  4. Talk about it. ...
  5. Relax before a flight. ...
  6. Use a deep breathing technique. ...
  7. Embrace safety information.


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People with aerophobia might feel intense anxiety before or during a flight. This condition can interfere with your ability to travel for work or pleasure. If aerophobia is affecting your quality of life, talk to your healthcare provider. With psychotherapy, most people can conquer their fear of flying.

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Is flying safer than taking a train or bus? Flying is the safest form of long-distance transport the world has ever known.

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While turbulence can feel scary, airplanes are designed to withstand massive amounts of it. A plane cannot be flipped upside-down, thrown into a tailspin, or otherwise flung from the sky by even the mightiest gust or air pocket, wrote pilot Patrick Smith on his site, AskThePilot.com.

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Your chances of being involved in a fatal plane crash are incredibly small – around 1 in 11 million, according to Harvard researchers. While your odds of being in a plane accident are about 1 in 1.2 million, survivability rates are about 95.7% – so the odds are with you no matter how you look at it.

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Reflecting this increase in miles flown, preliminary estimates of the total number of accidents involving a U.S. registered civilian aircraft increased from 1,139 in 2020 to 1,225 in 2021. The number of civil aviation deaths increased from 349 in 2020 to 376 in 2021.

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So many travelers struggle with this fear, so the best way to cope is to find a seat with plenty of space. The least crowded section of the plane is first or business class. But if upgraded flying isn't in your budget there are still options. Try sitting in an aisle seat in an exit row towards the front of the plane.

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While Xanax may be useful for flying on an airplane, it will not help you with your anxiety. It may help in the moment but you will not tackle your fear of flying if you are asleep the whole flight. If you ran out of your medication or left it at home, the anxiety will still exist if you go on an airplane again.

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Intended use: Most over-the-counter medications that you might take for anxiety, such as antihistamines, while approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as safe, have not been approved for alleviating symptoms of anxiety.

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Turbulence is a sudden and sometimes violent shift in airflow. Those irregular motions in the atmosphere create air currents that can cause passengers on an airplane to experience annoying bumps during a flight, or it can be severe enough to throw an airplane out of control. (The pilots) aren't scared at all.

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The disruption in the air current which helps a plane to fly results in shakes and it is referred to as turbulence. Also known as air pockets, turbulence can cause a sudden loss of altitude temporarily.

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