To be terrified of flying in this weather

[rainyetagain]

I'm going to America tomorrow afternoon and am absolutely terrified of flying in this weather. I usually don't mind flying but the thought of it during this storm is really scaring me.

I don't really know what advice I'm looking for but I suppose I just want to know if anyone has been on a flight in these windy conditions before and how it went? I'm a nervous wreck

My husband flew to Tokyo from LHR this morning. They wouldn't fly if it wasn't safe. You'll be above the wind very quickly so I'm sure all will be fine.

The flight won’t take off if the pilot and the airline consider it dangerous. Flights have been cancelled today due to the storm.

I have - more than once. You really must believe that the pilots know what they're doing. They don't want to crash any more than you do! If it was deemed too dangerous they wouldn't do it.
I am ready to be corrected but I'd have thought take off would be less scary than landing in the wind. You'll be fine.

They don't fly if it's unsafe

Just obey instructions and keep your seatbelt buckled unless you have to get up for the loo

In the big transatlantic planes you won't feel it as much, but it may dip up & down a bit

• I was once in a 20-seater over Austria that was worse than any rollercoaster !

It's all risk assessed. My husbands flight from Europe into Gatwick was cancelled today as it was a smaller aircraft and deemed unsafe. The storm will have died down a lot by tomorrow and and they'll only fly the planes if they are sure it's safe to do so.

Don't blame you one bit.

But, as others have said, if it's too dangerous, they won't attempt it.

Thanks everyone for the replies! I need to keep telling myself that they won't fly if it's unsafe, I just hope it clears up by tomorrow

My plane was ready to go this morning when winds picked up at the runway at Gatwick essentially shut down. Hour delay but we eventually took off. Captain said there’s a legal limit (or something along that line) so it’s not just the pilot making decisions, it’s all for everyone’s safety.

Apparently a flight from NY to London broke all the records, arrived in under 5 hours, 1 3/4 hours early because of the tail wind!
FLights won't take off if there's any danger and by tomorrow afternoon the worst of the storm will be over.
Bon voyage!

Last summer. We were delayed out of Miami because of a storm and when we took off, we flew through it. I thought it was absolutely horrendous, but my dh and kids didn’t even notice. My hands and feet were drenched in sweat!

Then 2 days later, we flew out of another US airport in another thunderstorm. Again, I was bolt upright in a state of concealed panic - my family were as happy as Larry, watching tv, as were all the other passengers.

I love flying btw, but loathe turbulence. When the plane is shaking and juddering, I just can’t relax. I know I am being silly.

Storms have to be a minimum distance away before they can take off, if that helps.

Are you the pilot? If not YABU, as you will not actually be doing any flying :) And if you are the pilot, YABU to be scared, you should know better :)

If it's too windy to take off, you may be delayed. If it's too windy at your destination you may be diverted to another airport. However, nobody will be taking any risks with the safety of the plane. Everything is done by the book.

I was on a plane that landed in gale force winds a few years ago in Sydney. The descent was a bit bumpy but at no point was there any danger. The worst that can happen is if the plane doesn't stay perfectly lined up with the runway they will go back up and swing round for another try. Again, they won't do anything risky, they train for landing in all kinds of wind conditions and if anything I think they enjoy the challenge of trying to keep it as gentle as possible, because pilots love a smooth landing (they call it 'buttering the bread').

It will just be a bit bumpy on take off, once you gain altitude it will be fine.
I flew back from Belfast through the storm at the weekend and it wasn't too bad. Flew through the tail end of a Cyclone the week before. That was an.... interesting.... landing, but we made it in one piece.
They won't take off if its not safe, don't worry.