To not want to fly whilst all this war is going on?

[ShittyFingers]

DH and I normally go away every year abroad - normally to USA for road trips.

The year before Covid started we decided not to go away and instead save up for a big USA trip the year after. Then obviously Covid happened 😂 so we haven't been abroad for over 3 years (first world problems, I know).
We decided we’d go to USA later this year now that covid is being treated like flu so to speak.

Then Putin happened. Now I don’t particularly want to fly whilst all this is going on. I’m scared of flying at the best of times but now Russia is literally on the warpath I just don’t want to go anywhere. DH thinks I’m being ridiculous and I know I probably am but I’d just rather stay in the UK at the minute.

AIBU to cancel yet another holiday?

I wouldn’t cancel a USA holiday no.

I think going west is the safest way to go right now.

Yabu

What do you think is going to happen?!
I’d be very frustrated if I were your dh

I don’t know, I know I’m being daft but I really am a nervous flyer and I’m imaging all sorts of catastrophic things happening at the minute. Maybe I’m just getting a bit too comfortable in my own country

Given the last russian attack that we know of on British soil was in zizzis then I reckon you'll be ok on a plane.

Not the USA, might think twice about Poland or the Baltic states.

Honestly, for goodness sake.

I can empathise, I haven’t been anywhere by plane since Dec 19, we would usually have a sunshine holiday every winter, the longer I go without flying the more nervous I become at the thought of it. It’s not logical, I know but it’s how I feel. To be honest, if you said to me, you can never go abroad again, I wouldn’t be disappointed at all.

Can I ask what’s is actually increasing your anxiety?

If you are worried that the actual act of flying across the Atlantic has suddenly become less safe because of events in Ukraine then you YABU….nothing on that side of things has changed.

I wouldn’t cancel, who knows what the situation will be like later this year? Although if it’s consuming brain space and stressing you out then it’s not having the desired effect a holiday should!

@GeneLovesJezebel you do realise that USA is closer to Russia than the UK.🤔

@ShittyFingers I think for now I would carry on with plans as normal but with an eye in developments and ensuring everything can be cancelled without too much financial loss if I changed my mind.

Dont fly then its terrible for the environment anyway doesn't climate change bother you at all?

@Mumski45

you do realise that USA is closer to Russia than the UK

Well the State of Alaska certainly is but as for the contiguous 48 states…..

So the war in Afghanistan didn't put you off! How about Jihad did that deter you? What about Somalia?

Honestly!

The war in Ukraine won't be an issue going across the Atlantic. We are going to Greece in May, much closer to there, but I still can't see it being a problem. I'm to going, its the one thing that I'm actually looking forward to this year. Go and have a great time!

@VelvetChairGirl

Dont fly then its terrible for the environment anyway doesn't climate change bother you at all?

How helpful 🙄

I’d be keeping a cautious eye on the situation for now. What are the terms of cancellation (do you get different % back depending on when you cancel).

If you were going in the next few days I wouldn’t be overly worried. But who knows what this situation will be like by next week, or next month?

Putin said in 2014 he would view interference with Swift as an act of war, so this could escalate rapidly.

At this point I’d probably be mentally disengaging from the holiday a bit, but holding out for the moment in the hopes things will settle quickly. And hopefully they will.

Being a nervous flyer is hard.

The risk of flying to USA is unaffected by the war, if that's your anxiety spike then you do need to work through that.

However if you're using that as something to hang off bigger feelings then you need to assess that. Foreign travel isn't mandatory, you can just stay here. But do it for reasons you understand and are comfortable and confident with.

I'm with you, OP. It's the fear of hackers brushing down a plane that worries me. Suspect I'll get slated for saying that, but I can't help my anxiety.

Have a look at flight radar 24 to understand how many planes are in the sky at any moment.

Thousands and thousands.

I’d cancel any plans I had to go to Ukraine, Russia or Belarus, and I wouldn’t think twice about carrying on plans to go elsewhere.
Unfortunately I think the war in Ukraine, as much as I hope it will be over quickly, I think it has the potential to go on for YEARS.

This will be rumbling on for years. Are you never going to fly again?

Am travelling abroad in July to Europe, won't think twice about it. Wouldn't be slightest bit worried about going to USA.
If you are anxious, maybe leave a few weeks before booking to see how this pans out, but I would do it.

YABU.

We haven’t had a foreign holiday since before the pandemic either, but we are definitely going to Bavaria next month, then to the US in June. The war is in Ukraine, not where we are going. We have been robbed of two years of our lives and now it’s time to get on with living again.

At what point are you going to start living your life again?

I’m off to Egypt next week and Greece in august. No plans to cancel. You’ll be fine going to the USA. More danger from the local population and their guns than Putin.

It's the fear of hackers brushing down a plane that worries me

That’s one thing I wouldn’t lose sleepover it…the idea that hackers can override pilot input and crash an airliner is fantasy stuff.

FYI there are small computers on most airliners these days, and on some they are part of the flight control system but the critical ones are well and truly air gapped from the internet.

FWIW loss of GPS or even ATC wouldn’t cause aircraft to be brushed out of the skies.