r/fearofflying

*out of Lisbon

So I fly a lot because I am in a long distance relationship. I recently have gotten better at flying, however today was a little spooky and I need reassurance. About 30 minutes into our flight which was super smooth to start, the oxygen masks dropped and we had to turn around and breathe out of the masks back to our original location. Apparently the cabin pressure dropped significantly. On a positive note we landed safe and sound, but I had to rebook my flight to tomorrow morning so now I have to fly again. All this to be said, has anyone experienced a similar instance? How prepared are we for these situations? In the moment it was quite nerve wracking but the pilot told us our landing would be okay. Just need some advice as I get back on the same flight at the same time tomorrow morning.

I have a flight in 3 weeks. After years of flying, I recently developed fear to it (bad experiences and realization).

For the past week it has been hell. I have spoken to many, trying to find a solution, even a friend who is a flight attendant. Nothing works. I do not like the idea of being up there.

Today I realised I cannot do it. My girlfriend wants to take a flight to take it back with me, and I felt pushed and almost started crying. I never dealt with anxiety and this is the worst feeling I have ever felt. Every 5 minutes it comes back. I cannot concentrate. I need to know that I am not taking that plane. I am even losing more hair than normal.

Luckily I can take some trains back home, although for more than 20 hours. And then I might seek therapy, cause an evern worse feeling is imagining all my life like this.

I’m flying in a couple of days and have an irrational fear of colliding with another plane. I already struggle with anxiety on aircraft, but this time I’m bringing my baby with me which adds a whole other level of anxiety. Help me calm my fears please!

My flight is at 2:30pm from Paris, to Agadir (TO3004, if anyone would like to track me, it would be reassuring)

I took the plane multiple time in my life, I used to love it ! Slowly I became a more anxious person in general and now it scares me.. I took the plane just for an hour in December and I couldn't wait to be back on the ground, this flight is 3h30....

I can't help but over analyze everything, every little weird sound or move from the plane, when there are some turbulences even if I learned about it (and it helps a bit) my body reacts alone and I start to get scared/lightheaded..

Flown so many times. Still hate flying. Taking off now.

Wish me luck 🍀

I've always been really interested in aviation. 5 years ago I dived deep into the aviation world and became an avgeek. My first flight was back in 2014. I don't quite remember how it was since it was so long ago but I am sure I did not have a fear of flying back then. Since 2014 I've taken 15 flights. On my 9th flight back in 2022 I felt a really bad stomach drop 2 times on takeoff. Since then I got a fear of flying. That fear was only because of the stomach drop and nothing else. I dont know how it got so but its probably because I haven't flown since 2020. There were plans to go to Bulgaria by plane in 2021 but they failed. Then after 2 flights in 2022 there was a long break. Now came 2026 and I needed to fly. On my first flight in 3 years the stomach drop still was there. I flew 3 times in the span of a week and then there was a 2 month break. On my 4th flight of 2026 the stomach drop was significantly less painful. Then after 2 days came my 5th flight of 2026. The stomach drop on this flight was even less noticeable then the one on the 4th flight. And I wasn't shaking on boarding. After the flight I understood that my fear of flying was probably over. I will have to fly 3 or 4 more times in a month or two tho. After that I'm scared that if I won't fly for long the stomach drop will come back intensified. But overall I can finally enjoy the full glory of aviation (atleast for now).

In a week, I'll be headed to the US. I'm European and these last two years I've taken 4 trips around Europe. I wasn't scared of flying as a kid, but I became anxious about it as an adult. It was all going really well from that first trip. Lots of layovers, and even though it's not the most fun thing in the world for me, I got to a point where I didn't hyperventilate too much during takeoff and landing. All great! I felt like the bravest gal in the world every time I did it.

(Warning: this paragraph might potentially be a little upsetting) Now on a flight back from one of my trips, about a month ago, something happened. I know now that I was never in any actual danger, but my brain was 100% sure I was going to die in that moment and I am not exaggerating in the least. I obviously don't want to go into insane detail since this sub is what it is, but we got into the cloud bit while the plane was descending, and there was thunder and lightning. I didn't know this, so all I experienced at that point was turbulence, then a loud boom, and then the plane feeling like it was dropping. It obviously wasn't. It was the sound of thunder and what I can assume was the pilot wanting to get tf out of there, but it freaked me out completely to the point I was weeping uncontrollably when we got landed. I still got on the next plane (being super brave and all) and then we had to deal with some pretty windy weather on the last landing, but this pilot had warned us beforehand which did help a little. Didn't stop me from clutching the seat the entire way down though, but I pulled through.

Now, I had hoped, since I got on the next plane right after, that that experience wouldn't linger in me, but I think it has. Yesterday, as I was driving during a storm, the way the car shook was enough to send me back to that plane mentally. I'm flying to a whole other continent in a little over a week and it is spooking me a little. It's a longer trip and it's over much more water than I've tried before.

Some of these might be stupid questions but: Is there anything different I should expect compared to just traveling in Europe? Since it's over an ocean, should I expect more turbulence? More terrible weather? I'm traveling all the way to the West Coast if that makes any difference at all. Anyone who's had similar uncomfortable experiences and maybe has tricks on overcoming it? I know more exposure is always the way to do it but I mean while I'm up there. Some way to calm down?