Will my doctor give me diazepam for flying?

People often come to us requesting the doctor or nurse to prescribe diazepam for fear of flying or assist with sleep during flights. Diazepam is a sedative, which means it makes you sleepy and more relaxed. There are a number of very good reasons why prescribing this drug is not recommended.



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Take it about two to three hours before you fly, and do not mix it with alcohol. There is a risk of dependency, though, with these benzodiazepines, but only if you are taking them more than once a week.

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What Are the Best—And Safest—Sleeping Pills for Flights?
  • Ambien. Ambien—the most powerful option on this list and the only one that requires a prescription—works as a sedative-hypnotic medication that slows your brain activity to make you feel very sleepy. ...
  • Tylenol PM. ...
  • Melatonin.


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Initial use of benzodiazepines, including the well-known Diazepam also known as 'Valium', was enthusiastic and they were hailed as a wonder drug.

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Official answer. Ativan and Xanax are both benzodiazepines used for the treatment of anxiety, and both are equally effective for this use. The differences are: Xanax has a quicker onset of effect, but a shorter duration of action (4 to 6 hours) compared with Ativan's 8 hours.

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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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For example, deep breathing or meditation during take-off, landing or turbulence can reduce your symptoms of anxiety. You can also learn to “talk back” to negative thoughts about flying when they arise.

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For example, deep breathing or meditation during take-off, landing or turbulence can reduce your symptoms of anxiety. You can also learn to “talk back” to negative thoughts about flying when they arise.

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The use of psychopharmacologic drugs can aid in the various stages of treatment during exposure therapy. Benzodiazepines, such as clonazepam, help reduce anticipatory anxiety and can enable a patient to manage fear and anxiety during the initial stages of exposure therapy [15].

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They may be confiscated or you may find yourself in trouble with the police if you are carrying any on arrival. Diazepam stays in your system for quite a while. If your job requires you to submit to random drug testing, you may fail this having taken diazepam.

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Prescribing these drugs is not recommended any more for these reasons: Although plane emergencies are rare, taking Diazepam reduces awareness and reaction times for patients so you risk not being able to react to save your life if you have to escape quickly.

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Xanax, a member of the same pharmaceutical family (benzodiazepines) as diazepam, is a strong one. Take it about two to three hours before you fly, and do not mix it with alcohol. There is a risk of dependency, though, with these benzodiazepines, but only if you are taking them more than once a week.

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