30 Heartwarming Pics Of People Overcoming Flight Anxiety

You heard that right! I have been cancelling flights for 15 years. I was able to get on a flight with a family member a few years ago, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I could fly alone. EVER.

I took a red eye flight, the WiFi on the plane didn’t work and the screen in front of me was frozen. I couldn’t contact my family, which in my mind was worst case scenario (would they have really picked up at 3 AM, though? I think not!). I did have a little bit of anxiety, but looking around at all of the other passengers and realizing I’m not alone - I am absolutely not the only nervous flyer on the plane, really helped. 6 hours in the air and we landed before I knew it!

If I did it, you can too! The book Flying with Confidence really helped me learn what all the sounds were, how airplanes work, etc., watching YouTube videos of pilots, and of course this amazing community would be my suggestion for those of you that have flights coming up.

SWA 4028 if anyone wants to track it. -not as nervous as i was on the flight here but a still a touch nervous.
so i finally got the courage to ask to meet the pilots and see inside of the cockpit. its a 737-700 and oh my god its so amazing. and the captain and first offcer were super nice. the captain has been flying for 37 years and the first officer for 25.
so to all those wanting to see and talk with the pilots dont be afraid to ask! they helped calm down my nerves and im actually excited for this flight.
i hope everyone reading this has a safe flight where ever youre headed.

It’s been a year since I flew alone for the first time and was reminded of a lovely experience I had with an older woman I was seated with.
On the day of my travels, we experienced more turbulence than I was used to due to some bad weather in the area where our connection airport was. I don’t do a good job of hiding my anxiety, and at every little “drop” sensation I was grabbing my seat and closing my eyes, trying not to cry.
The older lady next to me noticed and immediately checked on me and gave me reassurance that it’s okay and normal. She knew exactly how to make small talk with me and actually distract me almost completely. We talked about our travel plans, her life, she told me about her happy marriage, her children, so much info I was happy to learn.
When she found out I’d have to stay a while at the connecting airport overnight, she offered to give me money to buy myself dinner. I politely declined, but it made me feel so cared for. She also gave me candy from her purse and told me that if I needed to hold her hand during any moment I felt scared, to do so. So I did, and every time I got nervous and instinctively held her hand, she would rub my shoulder. She told me “I’ve been on many flights, trust me, if I’m not freaking out, you have nothing to worry about”
She also called the flight attendant and the attendant was just as reassuring.
Once we landed, I found her and her husband at the terminal and gave her a big hug and thanking her for being so good to me. And then I left.
I’ll always remember how compassionate she was and every time I look back on this memory it gives me more courage to fly. Also, enjoy a pretty sunset picture of one of the connection airports I stopped in.

y’all, i am nearly 25 years old and avoided flying my whole life. i went on an airplane to japan a couple of weeks ago and it was my first time ever, so i was terrified!!! now i can say- i will definitely fly again! i ended up on 5 flights total (2 on the way back, 3 on the way home!) one of the flights was a little spooky and rough, but we landed safely! coming home was especially scary for me because the AI incident happened a few days prior but this subreddit helped me more than i can express. when i was feeling nervous i would just go through things in my head like how many flights take off and land safely a day and “the pilot wants to go home too” and it helped alleviate some of my anxiety and made the flights bearable. so glad i’m not letting my fear of flying hold me back anymore! time to plan my next trip! here’s some of what i would have missed! :)

I am 30 years old, and I have never flown. I have been having panic attacks since I was preverbal. I am terrified of heights and agoraphobic. I travel often by train—it’s long and inconvenient and restricted to North America, obviously. Well, today I missed my 19-hour train from NYC back home by FOUR MINUTES. I made the decision to just. . . do this. I feel like the only way I will ever get this first experience over with is to just plow through without overthinking it, so that’s what I’m doing. I didn’t tell anyone but my mom because I want to wait until I land to announce it. My therapist and best friends won’t believe it!! Send happy thoughts or anything I should know! I have a window seat in the last row!

Successful flight! Landing was a little Hectic because the pilot made all sort of crazy turns and banks, but otherwise good.

So last about a month ago, I took my first flight ever. I flew with Delta and it was an amazing experience! As a larger person, I was always afraid of flying and thought I was too big and there was no way I could do it. I’m excited for my next flight ❤️

pictured: note from an incredibly kind flight leader today who knew I was nervous.
not pictured:

To all pilots and crew, I know us anxious flyers can be frustrating when something you do every day is so terrifying to us. Thank you for not only getting us there safely but for every act of kindness along the way ❤️
If anybody else has stories/shoutouts about pilots and crew, please share!