Statistics show that air travel is extremely safe. Between 2020 and 2024, there was an average of one accident for every 810,000 flights. At that rate, if you boarded a plane every single day, it would take you over 2,200 years to experience one.
Still, an estimated 2.5% to 6.5% of the population suffers from a fear of flying (also known as aviophobia or aerophobia), which might result in missing a family member's wedding, drifting away from friends, skipping the concert of the band you've loved since you were thirteen, or never being able to cross out that bucket-list place you've dreamed of visiting your whole life.
To confront their anxieties, many turn to the subreddit r/FearOfFlying, a supportive online community where armrest-grippers come together to share advice, encouragement, and, most importantly, victories.
#1 This Woman Was So Nervous About Flying, So The Flight Attendant Explained Every Sound And Bump And Even Sat Here Holding Her Hand When It Still Got To Be Too Much For Her

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45points
#2 Told Air Canada About My Fear Of Flying - Off Duty Air Canada Pilot Switched Seats To Sit With Me And Make Me Less Afraid. Air Canada Is Amazing!

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43points
#3 What I Would Have Missed

My grandma is 101 and recently fell and broke her hip and then got shingles, so I knew it was time to fly out and see her. I am so happy I did and would have regretted it forever more if I didn’t get on the plane.
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27points
#4 Amazing Alaska Airlines Pilot

Flew from Lihue, Kauai to Seattle the other day, and I was totally amazed that the pilot came out and not only spoke to us in first class, but walked down the entire plane to speak with all passengers on the flight!
He cracked a few jokes, talked about our ride into Seattle, and if we needed anything to let his FA’s know.
I do not love flying, often get pretty nervous about turbulence and flying over the ocean for hours on end, but this gesture from this pilot made me feel SO much more at ease, safe, and comfortable on the flight knowing him and his team were in control.
I will never forget this! And I hope more pilots do the same thing. It truly puts passengers at ease. Just wanted to share!!
He cracked a few jokes, talked about our ride into Seattle, and if we needed anything to let his FA’s know.
I do not love flying, often get pretty nervous about turbulence and flying over the ocean for hours on end, but this gesture from this pilot made me feel SO much more at ease, safe, and comfortable on the flight knowing him and his team were in control.
I will never forget this! And I hope more pilots do the same thing. It truly puts passengers at ease. Just wanted to share!!
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24points
#5 A Reminder

Whenever I’m nervous, I look at flight radar. This screenshot isn’t even every flight visible, because there’s so many my phone glitches out lol. But when I’m scared, sometimes I click on random planes, see the type of plane, airline, and how far they are to their destination. It makes me feel so much better seeing everyone else going about their lives and knowing I can do the same.
It might feel scary actually doing the thing, but you’re just one person in a sea of people in the exact same situation as you.
It might feel scary actually doing the thing, but you’re just one person in a sea of people in the exact same situation as you.
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24points
#6 Embarrassing Panic Attack On A Red Eye But Made A Friend!

So I’m the queen of handing out but not taking my own advice. I’m nearly landing from a 9 hour flight back to London. It is a red eye so I was super tired and cranky in the build up. As we are waiting to board the plane I had a full blown incredibly embarrassing panic attack. I literally had to crouch on the floor in the queue with my head on my knees and try to breath. But I couldn’t stop crying and hyperventilating for a good 15 minutes. There were tons of people around me but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. And all my knowledge and practice around panicking went out the window.
But somehow I still got on the plane. I paid a small amount to be bumped up a class. Didn’t make eye contact with anyone as I was mortified. Even more surprisingly I fell asleep and woke up to a sweet note someone had left me on a napkin.
Now I don’t even feel scared about landing. This sounds terrible but I’m so emotionally exhausted I just feel like well…we are coming down one way or another. 😂
Last photo is my final sunset in Florida.
But somehow I still got on the plane. I paid a small amount to be bumped up a class. Didn’t make eye contact with anyone as I was mortified. Even more surprisingly I fell asleep and woke up to a sweet note someone had left me on a napkin.
Now I don’t even feel scared about landing. This sounds terrible but I’m so emotionally exhausted I just feel like well…we are coming down one way or another. 😂
Last photo is my final sunset in Florida.
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21points
#8 Years Of Wishing And I Made It

I can not express the gratitude I can offer to you guys. After years of wanting to go but was far to afraid I made it to Japan. This has been a long journey both mentally and physically (13 hours) but I'm here and enjoying every minute!
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17points
#9 Success! 9.5 Hour From Canada To France Round Trip 🇨🇦🇫🇷 Thankful For Nostalgic Movies, Crochet, And Modern Medicine. No Panic Attacks On The Longest Flights Of My Life, After Almost Cancelling The Night Before. Had An Amazing Vacation And Didn’t Let My Fear Stop Me

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17points
#10 I Hope This Post Inspires You! I'm 10 Days Away From My First Solo Flight That I Planned Entirely By Myself! It's Been About 10 Years Since I've Flown By Myself Due To A Developed Fear Of Flying After Experiencing A Mid Flight Anxiety Attack

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17points
#11 What I Would Have Missed If I Didn’t Get On The Plane

I saw another post and wanted to copy this idea because I found it very inspiring! A weekend in London was well worth it!
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13points
#12 I Made It!!

I made it to Guam from Frankfurt through Tokyo with Japan airlines! I was pretty anxious and was not able to watch any movies at all during both flights, but I managed to sleep a little on the way to Tokyo. My least favorite parts are definitely take off and landing. I managed to cope through turbulences by picturing the airplane in a block of jello analogy, that helped a lot. First I felt pretty ridiculous being so scared of something so trivial but decided to tell the crews about my nervousness. I am happy I did because they were all super sweet. They checked on me regularly, brought me water after bumpy events and even candy for take off. It definitely made me feel better. Also knowing that if they had time to check on me it meant nothing terrible was happening with the aircraft. Right before landing on Guam, one FA gave me this super sweet card. I did a lot of box breathing and silently repeated in my head like a mantra, that the FA and pilots do this every day as their job, so it can't possibly be that dangerous! I am happy to finally be on solid ground and will enjoy my 3 weeks here before doing it all over again to go back home...
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12points
#13 What I Would Have Missed If I Didn’t Take The Flight

Norway has been the top of my bucket list for as long as I can remember, and I finally made it! An 8.5 hour flight to Oslo and 2 hour flight to Tromso, and I’m not 100% anxiety-free, but it was so worth it!
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12points
#14 Talk To The Pilot: Part 2

This is what the pilot gave to a FA to bring to me when things started getting bumpy. This captain and his copilot’s boss is about to get a very long letter about how awesome his employees are. I will be keeping this for the rest of my life lol.
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10points
#15 What I Would Have Missed If I Didn’t Fly To Peru!

I took 5 flights in total for this trip, and it was well worth it. I want to thank everyone in this subreddit who helped me through the stress of flying. Don’t let your fear control you! If anyone needs support, don’t hesitate to reach out to me!
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10points
#16 What A Pilots Daughter Says… Flying Alone

My 20 year old on a flight alone from Boston - San Diego. This is the conversation.
No…I did not track her flight. I just got the notification when she landed. Yeah, she’s a pilots daughter…yeah, she’s been flying her whole life. When she was young, she was afraid of turbulence too. So we talked about it, much like I talk to y’all…I share the good and the bad with her, and I’m proud of this reaction as a 20 year old flying alone.
No…I did not track her flight. I just got the notification when she landed. Yeah, she’s a pilots daughter…yeah, she’s been flying her whole life. When she was young, she was afraid of turbulence too. So we talked about it, much like I talk to y’all…I share the good and the bad with her, and I’m proud of this reaction as a 20 year old flying alone.
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10points
#17 Was Getting Super Anxious During Turbulence On A Flight Today And My Boyfriend Tried To Distract Me With Hangman

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10points
#18 Shout Out To Lufthansa Staff

Recently traveled from the US to Germany (and back). Traveling back home, I let one of the flight attendants know I was a bit of a nervous flyer. He was EXTREMELY kind, showed me the cockpit, gave me a stuffed animal and an insane amount of snacks and sweet treats, let me change my seat to sit closer to him, checked on me frequently, and pretty much spoiled me throughout the entire flight. I’ve had so many great experiences speaking to flight attendants about my anxiety, they’re usually super helpful and I definitely recommend talking to them!
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9points
#19 Facing My Fears Again! This Time For My Honeymoon!

Greetings to my amazing fear of flying community! I’m currently at the gate waiting to board my 10 hour flight from JFK to Athens for my honeymoon. I’m feeling relatively calm (thanks to medication) but I always have a horrific panic attack when I board and there’s still time to get off. There’s no turning back, because I only have so many meds and I can’t miss my own honeymoon! But I’d love some words of encouragement! And if anyone is able to track me once we’re in the air (we should have wifi). Flight is DL212. Thank you in advance!!
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9points




