Take a look inside the fear-of-flying course that helped with my anxiety and changed my whole attitude to turbulence
- I have had a fear of flying for many years and particularly hate takeoff and turbulence.
- So, I attended a fear-of-flying course with British Airways — and it completely changed my outlook.
In preparation for a busy summer of traveling, I wanted to face my fear of flying.
For years, I have been an anxious flyer. Turbulence in particular is difficult: I have had panic attacks mid-air and held many strangers' hands.
So I attended the Flying with Confidence course, run by British Airways in London, hoping it would change things. It cost £385, which is around $500.
I learned a lot and found that by fully understanding how flying — and turbulence — actually works, I was able to deal with my anxieties better.
The camaraderie and support I received from strangers that day was also heart-warming and made me realise I was not alone.
Here is what the course was like and why it was surprisingly emotional.
The Flying with Confidence course is held by British Airways at the Sofitel Hotel, just outside of London's Heathrow Airport.
The one-day course is meant to give people knowledge and techniques to overcome their fear of flying.
I attended the primary course, which costs £385 ($490) per person.
If you want to have a more private experience with a maximum of just four people attending, the course costs £785, or around $1,000.
British Airways holds four primary courses a year, so it can be tricky to get a spot.
The course starts early in the morning and ends late in the afternoon with a short flight in the airspace around Heathrow.
This is me before attending the course. I'm smiling here but I was actually nervous and reluctant to go.
When I arrived, I noticed many people were already there. I was among around 100 attendees.
I registered and received my boarding pass, which I had to keep a hold of until later on that day. The destination on the ticket was "fictitious point."
Before the course began, I mingled with other anxious flyers in the foyer. Socializing was easy as we could all talk about how nervous we were.
The group of people attending varied in age. I spoke to one 23-year-old woman, who had never flown in her life and was getting on a plane for the first time that day.
Another man, in his 50s, told me that he had stopped flying over 10 years ago because of a bad experience with turbulence. He wanted to overcome his fear because he wanted to visit his grandchildren in Australia.
We were ushered into a theatre to meet the British Airways team of pilots and crew who would accompany us.
The team was around 20 people, who we got to know throughout the course of the day.
During our breaks, we could mingle with the pilots and ask them all the flight-related questions we had. I'm sure I asked many stupid questions, but they helped quell my irrational fears.
The crew also accompanied us on our flight later that day, and were pillars of emotional support.
Then the presentations started. Steve Allright, a pilot who runs the Flying with Confidence course, told us everything from how a plane is able to fly...
...to what turbulence actually is, and why it's not dangerous.
Learning more about turbulence and what it is really helped combat all of the irrational fears that I had.
One of the best pieces of advice was that turbulence is uncomfortable, but not dangerous. We were told it is one of the most normal sensations of flying.
We were told pilots always try to find the most comfortable path to their destination without compromising safety.
Turbulence is also rarely the cause of any major airplane accidents. From 2009 to 2021, there were only five to 18 serious turbulence-related injuries each year, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration.
We got a wide-ranging lunch included in the price of the course. As I ate, I continued to bond with other anxious flyers.
The second part of the day included a presentation by a psychiatrist, who talked through the psychology of aerophobia and how best to deal with feelings of panic while on a plane.
One of the best tips was how to control my fear through breath control.
We were taught a particular breathing technique called the "Breathe and Squeeze."
This involves first breathing air out of your mouth before sucking it back in through your nose. While you inhale, you also squeeze the glutes and pelvic area. The exercise will not only slow your heart rate but will also reduce muscle tension in your body.
Then came the part everyone was dreading. We were split into small groups of six and were escorted through Heathrow Airport.
Just like everyone else, we went through security and then met up with our groups in the departure hall.
Here is the gate for the flight that we boarded. At this point, nerves were high and some people were already going through their breathing techniques. I was still doing fine.
Then the flight was ready to board. Using the passes from earlier in the day, we went through the gates towards the plane.
Some people around me were starting to panic at this point. I was in awe of my peers with serious phobias who were boarding the plane with me.
Walking down the bridge, I spoke to a woman next to me who told me her claustrophobia kept her from boarding a flight for three years.
Just outside the plane, some in our group decided to turn back. One woman told me: "I'm really proud of myself for getting this far, but that's all I can do for today."
I found my seat and sat down. Tensions were high, but everyone was checking in with one another — it was really touching to see strangers come together.
We were given water, which at that point was much needed. I struck up a conversation with the woman sitting next to me, who told me she only became an anxious flyer after the birth of her son.
Then it was time to take off. I looked out the window and started the breathing techniques I was taught hours earlier. I held hands with my neighbor.
The pilot got on the intercom and talked us through the entire process of taxiing and takeoff. He explained where every little sound from the plane was coming from.
I found this level of detail especially helpful and is one of the reasons I would recommend the course.
As we ascended, there were cheers and applause from everyone on the plane — we had done it! I was brave even during a brief wave of turbulence.
The flight took about 45 minutes. Once we landed, we could take a proper look at the cockpit and speak to the pilots.
All of this was really helpful for me. By learning more about the aviation industry and how planes exactly work, I was able to rationalize my fears.
At the end of the day I got a certificate. I also received a 10% discount on my next British Airways flight in an effort to encourage me to keep flying.
The truth is, I was never going to stop flying. I love traveling and going to new places too much for that.
But for the first time, I see a future in which I don't have stressful dreams before a flight or panic at even the slightest hint of turbulence.
I am confident the course gave me the tools to deal with my fears and tackle them head-on, and would recommend it to other people with the same fear.
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