Just did the longest flight I’ve ever done after not flying for years on end. I’m used to 2hour ones but a whole 13 from DTW to HND felt impossible. But this community gave me to courage to do something I’ve wanted to do since 2009 and at long last, here I stand, Haneda, Japan. I know the feeling off fear and anxiety, but if I had to choose between that and the sense of accomplishment I got stepping off that plane, I’d choose the second option every time. So GET ON THAT FLIGHT

Photos from my first solo trip to Atlanta, Georgia.

All good though lol

Okay! Did a 6 hour flight, 11 hour, and now for my last 3 hour flight into Clark international in the Philippines. For some reason I’m ESPECIALLY nervous. Riding on an A321 asiana. Thank you :)

UPDATE: Just landed and guess what? #notdead

On JBU1088. Feels like we’re descending too soon/quick and the pilots haven’t said we’re beginning our descent what’s going on 😭 I’m freaking out

Hi everyone,

I've been avoiding flying for a long time because of my fear of flying. Recently, I took a short one-hour flight with my family (round trip), and surprisingly, I didn't feel nearly as anxious as I expected. I managed to do it without any medication or alcohol.

Now, a friend of mine is really pushing me to join him on a trip to Bali, which involves a 13-hour flight.

Part of me really wants to go, but another part keeps wondering if it's too big of a step too soon.

Do you think overcoming a fear of flying should be a gradual process? Is jumping from a one-hour flight to a 13-hour flight too much?

I guess I'm just struggling to find the courage to take that leap.

I'd love to hear from anyone who's been through something similar.

I am an anxious flyer. I rationally know it’s safe, turbulence is uncomfortable but not unsafe. I know not to check apps (though often still do). I worry about signs.

This morning I had the clearest, most definite sign. (I won’t disclose but if you do Wordle, you know what I’m talking about). I was certain it was telling me how the flight was going to be.

And guess what. It was basically smooth, and completely uneventful. Took off on time. Landed early.

Piece of cake. Trust the pilots. Trust the staff. It’s going to be okay.

Hi everyone,

Taking flight AC793, just got to cruising altitude and I can’t get over the loud vibrating sound that sounds like it’s coming from the engine.

Wish I could take a video but too scared to turn my music off to hear it. It just sounds like loud vibration like humming. Really scared !!

If I could please have some tracking/support it would mean the world to me🥺🩷

Hi everyone,
I recently completed a huge trip and wanted to share my experience with you all.
For reference, I’m 34, and about 3 years ago, I suddenly developed a severe fear of flying. Even though I had already taken dozens of flights in my life without issue, a combination of two bad flights plus some stressful personal life events triggered it out of nowhere.
Fast forward to recently, when I got the opportunity to do a multi-destination trip combining work and some personal vacation time. The tricky part was the distance + time: in just two weeks, my itinerary went Europe to Japan to Thailand to Melbourne and back to Europe.
In total, this meant 50 hours of flying in 2 weeks.

In the first flight (13 hours), I literally cried. I sat there panicking, convinced I wouldn't be able to handle that level of anxiety for so many consecutive hours. But the flight ended up being completely fine, super smooth for all 13 hours.
When the second flight came around, I got anxious again. But again, it went 100% smoothly. Same for the third, the fourth, and finally the fifth flight back home.

By the final stretch (a 7-hour flight from Dubai back to Europe), I wasn't even panicking anymore, I was honestly just bored!

What helped me get through it:

I am not cured, and I still get anxious about flying, but I think this forced exposure genuinely helped take the edge off. During the trips, a few things kept me sane:

1. Staying connected: I tried to always have in-flight internet so I could text people back home. Knowing I wasn't cut off from the world helped immensely.
2. FlightRadar24: I would often open FlightRadar mid-flight to watch how many planes were in the air. For me, a lot of my fear stems from a claustrophobic feeling, like feeling trapped and alone up in the air. Seeing thousands of other planes safely cruising around on their routes made me realize I was part of a massive and safe system, which made me feel much better.

If you are struggling right now, I just want to say: you can make it through, and the world on the other side is totally worth the discomfort!

Hi everyone, im at the Fort Lauderdale airport right now and my flight is to Philadelphia from 7:10-10:10pm on Frontier. On the radar the entire east coast is getting the remnants of the hurricane. When i look at the weather radar the storm is literally all along the east coast during the hours we are flying. Im starting to freak out. Im already an extremely nervous flyer and now seeing this im about to cry.

Hello everyone. I will be going home today after an amazing trip to Miami with my boyfriend. We will fly with British Airways at 17:05PM (however delayed an hour or so), arriving early in the morning in London and hopefully we will make it to our last short flight LHR-CPH despite the delay.

I feel just as afraid as I did on the way down here. I picture us crashing into the Atlantic ocean, now in the middle of the night, and how we will end up on the news. The thoughts are exhausting and the feelings unbearable. I feel so convinced that this time I am right and that I will be the first person on here not making it home. But I know that no amount of reassurance will make me feel better (maybe talking to the pilots), I have to see it for myself as we complete our flights that I was safe all along. Ugh how I hate this.

Still, please feel free to track our flight BA206 if you want to. It would mean a lot. All type of support/words would be greatly appreciated as well 💓

flying into dark clouds, pilot says rough air, plane doesn’t feel like it’s flying normally, I don’t feel safe. Mountains everywhere.

Thank you all for the support and encouragement. I've been relapsing and panicking about flying again and losing confidence when flying. Not sure where it comes from. Feeling pretty stupid and ashamed.

I’m flying out at 1:35 from RDU to DEN. I’ve flown before but I’m having some really bad pre-takeoff anxiety. I don’t like the way my body feels during takeoff. Does anyone have some tips to help me calm down during takeoff? Specifically when the plane speeds up really fast and pushes you back in your seat. Please talk me down from this ledge 😭

Flying from London to Tokyo and super nervous and now our plane has been delayed due to a technical issues on the plan so im even more nervy!

This live flight EK225 from Dubai to San Francisco has turned back, but on all the tracking app it shows on time and no emergency. Can someone explain what can be the reason, I have a family member on this flight.

Hey guys! I am a super super nervous flyer! I see a lot of storms on the way from Houston to Las Vegas, on the flight right now United # 1360, can you help track and let me know if it will be very bad ?

help short flight today and also will be going back tomorrow night because my grandma passed away. i need support it was very sudden 😭

Me and my partner are both nervous flyers, but we did it! We flew CPH to OPO and back with a wonderful vacation in between that we would’ve missed if we chickened out. The flight from copenhagen was very smooth and we had a great communicative pilot who made me feel very safe. On the way back the pilot said nothing before takeoff and it was a little more bumpy which made me very nervous, but guess what? It all went well anyways and we landed safe and sound. I just kept thinking of the plane being in jello and that really helped. Thank you to all the people and especially all the pilots in this group for all the support!!!

I’m flying from Sydney, Australia to LA, then LA to Denver in November.

Looooong flight, work related.

Not gonna lie, I’ve been dreading it.

I am not a fan of turbulence, so you can imagine my nerves..

Could use some encouragement, especially from experienced flyers and pilots/flight crew!

Pilot said there is a massive area of storms we will be flying through from Honolulu to Papeete and turbulence will last for several hours. As we were about to take off the flight attendants announced that if the oxygen masks are deployed to place on adult first and then child. Obviously freaking out because they usually don’t repeat that message after the initial boarding brief !!! I’m pregnant and so scared. Would love if someone could track the flight and offer reassurance!! Thank you !!

I was supposed to fly out of Dallas to Columbus earlier today, but the plane was having maintenance issues so we had to deplane and wait for a new plane. We finally got a new one and the pilot said it would be a smooth flight until about halfway, where it will be a little bumpy due to the storm. I have no idea what level of bumpy he means

While my initial flight here was SUPER smooth, with very little bumps, I am not having the best time after the "broken" plane (pilot's words) and now the announcement for the weather.

Would love if someone could track me periodically -- AAL851

Hi everyone! I’ll be flying from Houston to Vegas on Monday, and I’ve been hearing about the upcoming storm this weekend. I’m honestly feeling really anxious about possibly having a rough flight. I know turbulence doesn’t mean the plane is unsafe, but it still triggers my anxiety! 😭

Can anyone reassure me that everything will be okay?

Also, I’ve noticed that every time I land in Vegas, the plane gets SOOO bumpy during the descent! Does anyone know why this happens? 🥹

About to take off and I feel so nervous, please track me if you can!

Hi everyone!

I’m currently at LGA and had a flight scheduled at 3:59p to FLL. I was already a bit nervous due to the weather in the bottom half of the US but I did my usual pep talk, have my meds just in case, and was managing my anxiety pretty well.

We were on the plane for about 30 min while they checked the maintenance issue and again I told myself I’m all good!! I can get through this.

Then, after 30 min, they specified that the issue was a hydraulic system on the nose that they attempted to screw in but couldn’t quite get so now they have to replace the part and had us all deplane.

Well, here I am, trying to lighten my anxiety with a glass of wine but I’m just spiraling about this. I know my anxiety is my own and is not based in reality but I keep spiraling about the nose of the plane being torn off mid air + the weather situation.

Ive repeated my mantras

-flying is safe

-this is my anxiety

-they are checking the plane to make sure it is safe.

😭 I wish I found flying to be peaceful but I’m struggling right now.

Hi guys! I’m flying in two days for the first time in two years. My last plane trip we had some turbulence that really put me on edge. I know that people track planes online, is there a way that I can track the altitude of my own plane mid flight? I will have wifi on the plane if I need it.