Flying has been part of people’s lives for many years now and the same applies to aviophobia, the irrational fear of flying. Unfortunately, not many people who are afraid of flying believe the statistics which say that flying is much safer than driving a car. However, there are some tips how can an aviophobic cope with their fear.
Airplane is the safest means of transport. It is a fact confirmed by various statistics and studies. According to the latest report made by International Air Transport Association 2010 has been a record year with respect to the number of aviation accidents. Still, one in six adult men admits to be afraid of traveling by plane.
In 2010 the aviation accident rate was 0.61 meaning that 0.61 accidents happened per million flights. It is one of the lowest rates in the history of aviation after 2006 when the rate was 0.65. It is also a clear improvement in comparison to 2009 when the rate was 0.71. Nevertheless, some passengers are not convinced even by such studies. Most of them are afraid of turbulences and the rest fear that the plane will crash or be hijacked by terrorists. Such fear does not have a logical reason and can also endanger other passengers and the crew as well. People who panic do not usually think rationally and do not trust other people, not even the qualified pilots. Moreover, the total dependence on the pilots is one of the reasons of their frustration.
Dr. Reid Wilson is a specialist who has been treating people with anxiety disorders for years. He claims that accepting the phobia is one of the best ways to reduce the anxiety. The worse thing one can do is to conceal and downplay the fear – it can result in a panic attack. The reason behind media presenting every airplane crash is the fact that they do not occur very often. That is why it is extremely important for people suffering from aviophobia not to thing of such news too much. Aviophobics should never try to apply the situation of a crashed plane they saw on TV to the situation they are currently in. It is highly improbable that the plane they are on will actually crash. The real problem is in the mind of phobic travelers. To master the fear of flying it is also good to go to the airport and watch the taking off and landing of airplanes from a save distance.
