5 tips to eliminate fear of flying

5 tips to eliminate fear of flying

Do you get anxious at the mention of a boarding pass? You're not alone: one passenger in 5 suffers from a fear of flying. If this applies to you, we've put together 5 practical, easy-to-implement tips - including the last one! We hope you'll find them helpful in alleviating your fear of flying, and making the most of your dream trip!

1. choose your seat in advance

Reserving your seat in advance is a very good tip for visualizing your flight in advance and being more serene on D-day. It can be a costly option, but it gives you control over the first element of your trip - rather than leaving the choice of seat to chance at check-in.

The choice of seat is not insignificant! If you tend to be nervous on planes, we recommend you choose an aisle seat. It'll give you better access if you want to stand up during the flight. You'll have more freedom, and won't feel like you're confined to the window. In the middle or near the window, you have to bother your neighbors to get up. On the contrary, the aisle seat is more practical if you need to go to the toilet, grab something from your bag, go and talk to the cabin crew or simply stretch your legs by standing up for a few seconds.

Of course, you can also choose a window seat or a middle seat, if that's what you prefer! The middle seat is favored by some passengers because they appreciate being "wedged" between two neighbors, and feel less exposed in the event of turbulence. Last but not least, the window seat lets you enjoy the panorama on takeoff and landing!

2. Get to the airport early

To be perfectly zen when boarding time approaches, we also recommend arriving at the airport as early as possible. If the airline advises you to arrive 1h30 or 2h before your flight, come 2h30 or 3h early!

Why should you do this? It's the best way to avoid any risk of missing boarding. On the day of your trip, there are many stages that can cause minor delays: car or public transport journeys, boarding pass collection, baggage drop-off, security checks, immigration, customs... To this can be added the hiccups if you're dropping off a special piece of baggage (musical instrument, animal, bicycle, surfboard, etc.).

Coming early gives you peace of mind! It gives you time to find your terminal, anticipate travel times around the airport, stroll through the duty-free or newsagents...

Another tip for not being afraid on a plane: your terminal probably has picture windows so you can see the planes on the tarmac. With a little time to spare, watching the ballet of take-offs and landings is reassuring: it's an opportunity to realize that air travel is perfectly coordinated, routine and risk-free!

3. Tell the flight attendant when boarding

If you're having trouble managing your stress or fear of flying, here's a tip: tell a member of the flight crew that you're anxious about flying. You can talk to a steward, stewardess or purser. That's what they're there for! Flight attendants are trained to ensure you have a pleasant flight, and reducing your fear of flying is part of their training.

Don't hesitate to let them know once you've found your seat, so as not to disrupt the flow of passengers. For them, it's nothing exceptional: around 1 passenger in 5 is affected by this type of anxiety. They can give you advance warning of turbulence, or even upgrade your seat! During the flight, you're not alone: you can also call the cabin crew using the call button above your seat.

4. Bring in in-flight entertainment

Don't hesitate to bring anything into the cabin that will keep you entertained and your mind occupied with your favorite activities! Of course, planes often have on-board systems with movies and games, but their quality is uneven, and they're absent on low-cost airlines. No one knows better than you what you like when it comes to movies, TV series or music! So bring your own distractions, whatever they may be, and feel right at home.

You can bring anything you like into the cabin, as long as you set your electronic devices to airplane mode for the duration of the flight (and pay close attention to the flight instructions). It could be your bedside book, your favorite TV series, video games on your smartphone or Nintendo Switch, an iPad or other tablet, a magazine, an audio book, music...

Don't hesitate to bring more than you need: you'll be able to choose once you're in the air. In particular, good noise-cancelling headphones, an audio book and a sleeping mask are perfect for distracting your mind and forgetting you're in the air. You'll almost be disappointed that the flight's over!

5. Don't let your mind stop you from flying!

One last tip to take the fear out of flying: don't let negative thoughts get in the way, and discover the pleasure of flying! Flying doesn't have to be painful: by controlling your mind, you can prevent it from drifting into negative thoughts.

To achieve this, there are a number of techniques that we develop in the various modules of the Fofly online course. For example, having a minimum of technical knowledge will enable you to avoid "filling in the blanks" by imagining catastrophes every time you note down an unknown event. Another technique is to work on your irrational fears and control them when they arise.

Fear of flying training