I used to be terrified of flying, I went abroad for the first time at 19 on the first family holiday my parents could afford and I got on the plane and then tried to get straight off.
I had no idea it would be so small and we’d be so tightly packed in, I had flown a small plane a few times (air cadets) and was also not impressed when I realised I wasn’t going to be fitted with a parachute 😂.
On my second ever flight though the plane was almost diverted back to the airport because I had such a bad panic attack, I was refusing to come home I hated flying so much. It took a lot of persuasion to get me on board.
I’ve found ways to cope after years of hating it.
I used to go onto the airport roof (car park) at Manchester to watch the planes taking off and landing, I found it reassuring.
I told staff how terrified I was and they were so kind and usually let me board first. I was allowed to chat to the pilots on a couple of occasions as well.
I was always seated in the front row which helped because if I panicked cabin crew would come and chat to me.
There was one occasion with allocated seats when someone refused to swap and let me sit at the front (which is completely understandable) but in the end someone agreed to swap after take off when they saw how distressed I was.
Since it’s been an option I always pay for extra leg room seats at the front, I book and choose seats as soon as possible.
I still find it reassuring seeing cabin crew moving around and I get served drinks first! Every bump used to make me panic wildly but now as long as I see how nonchalant cabin crew are I’m absolutely fine.
The extra leg room helps with the feeling of claustrophobia and being packed in a tight space.
I always book a window seat and then I can see we are in the air and the plane is flying normally.
I also like to check the wings are still on! I know it’s completely illogical but who cares if it reduces anxiety?
The only problem with doing this is I get asked to swap seats on almost every flight because I’m under 5 foot and taller people (usually men) think this means I don’t deserve the extra leg room. I’ve also been asked many times to swap my window seat for someone’s child and I’ve had so much pressure put on me to move - especially when I fly alone.
I wish people would book and pay for their own seats if they feel entitled to them, it makes me anxious every flight waiting for someone to ask me to move. I had to get a flight attendant involved last year because a woman kept letting her toddler come to my seat when I wouldn’t swap and she was climbing all over me and DP to see out of the window.
I always have a few drinks before I fly no matter what time of day it is, I buy little bottles of wine or spirits to take on board at the airport as well. I’ve had cabin crew telling me off for drinking them on the plane before take off but DP always tells them it’ll make their life easier if I drink it quickly before take off and they have never confiscated it as long as I’ve finished it before take off.
When I travel with DP he holds my hand and distracts me during take off and does breathing exercises with me so I don’t have a panic attack. It’s harder travelling alone but on almost every occasion another passenger has been nice enough to talk to me and reassure me.
We flew through a storm once and lightning was hitting the plane, I was travelling alone but the man next to me told me it was lights reflecting off another plane and wasn’t lightning. I just accepted it at the time then when we landed I thought about it more logically and realised he was just a very kind man!
I keep my seatbelt on at all times and if there is turbulence I remember something they showed us at air cadets to demonstrate how planes stay in the air. If you get an A4 piece of paper and blow under it then it lifts the paper. As long as you keep blowing the paper doesn’t drop, I like the jelly example someone shared on a previous post as well.
I also read the statistics on how safe it is to fly and had the flight tracker app to show how many planes take off and land safely every day.
I read you are more likely to be kicked to death by a donkey or win the lottery multiple times then die in a plane crash.
I try never to watch anything on the news or any films about plane crashes before flying, that really isn’t helpful for anyone.
I know these things don’t work for everyone but I thought I’d share as some people have also found them helpful - especially with scared children. The only part I struggle with now is taking off, I actually enjoy being in the air now. I even flew alone on Friday the 13th in seat 13 without too much anxiety! There are obviously a lot of superstitious people because it was very very cheap.
What happened today is an absolute tragedy but it’s made the news because of how rare it is. I hope the injured people pull through and my heart goes out to the family of the man who died.