Are you aviophobic?

“You know the only reason we are told to wear seatbelts on a plane, is so that if the plane crashes, they can identify you later from your seat number.”

Yes, my friend has aviophobia — or the fear of flying — and enjoys freaking people out with random snippets like this.

It’s not hard to be paranoid hearing something like that before you get onto a plane; or think the worst when you experience turbulence over an extended period of time.

The two main fears of flying are 1) the plane will crash/explode/get hijacked; 2) to lose of self-control on a flight e.g. panic-attack or claustrophobia.

If you do have symptoms of aviophobia, it might make you feel better that you are far from alone. Approximately every 1 in 8 people are afraid of flying (a high percentage of which are high-powered executives), and approximately 6-million flights are not taken annually because of the same. This explains why the number of courses and programs you can take to overcome this fear is on the increase.

Should you have aviophobia, Flights Without Fear, Fearless Flights and Anxieties are some good places to start your research into getting help. Happy flying!