Most of us feel stressed before the plane takeoff and landing, albeit knowing that airplanes are, in fact, the safest way to travel. Yet do you know what is really scary? Flying with a person who has a fear of flying. His stress and nervousness may well pass on you, but you need to be as cool as a cucumber to convince your scaredy-cat that everything’s fine and there’s nothing to be afraid of. Here I am sharing a bit of my personal experience and giving the top 5 tips on how to cope with people with aerophobia.
1. Calming one down with whiskey
If you have enough time before the departure, be sure to drop by the lounge room to have a tasty lunch and treat yourself with a beverage. Your main goal is to get your aerophobe all liquored up. You’ll feel good, and he’ll feel relaxed. The trick is to go easy if you don’t want to carry him all the way to the plane ladder. Also, make sure that your passenger doesn’t drink coffee before departure because it can make one anxious.
2. Taking pills to have sweet dreams
Ten minutes before boarding is just the right time for your companion to take a sleeping pill. Be careful, though, as this method only works for long flights. If it’s a short flight and the sedative is heavy, you won’t be able to wake your partner up then, and he will not be lucid for another five hours. For short flight, see tip no. 1.
3. Distracting with a conversation
When frightened, your mate is similar to a child. Try to distract him during takeoff and landing. Chat about stuff, read some in-flight magazine that can always be found in a seat pocket, anything. The main thing is not to let him look into a window or at a flight attendant who instructs the passengers in case of an emergency landing. It will scare the hell out of your aerophobe straightaway. This method is suitable for those who refuse to take the pills or don’t want to drink.
4. Entertaining with apps and games
There are tons of applications for gadget addicts that help to overcome a fear of flying. One of them is SkyGuru. It even talks to you during the flight, which helps you feel safe and sound. Equally, your mate can take one’s mind off by playing games or reading a book. However, this sort of things works only during the flight but not during takeoff or landing. At these moments the aerophobe will probably grab onto the seat and bury his nose in a window anyway. You can turn on some music beforehand as long as it’ loud so that your mate couldn’t hear the undercarriage sound and couldn’t panic.
5. Walking in the air
Finally, a bit more for those like me who are flying with an aeropsycho. Flying with a guy like this who has seen all the Discovery Channel programs about air crashes and about how the plane works, is pretty hard. Especially when he is making comments on everything that is happening with the plane. Afterwards, even you may develop a fear of flying. Such aeropsychos’ brain begins to think of all those programs and generate scary imaginary situations while the slightest turbulence provokes a panic attack. By now all of the above listed tips can be used (except keep in mind that sleeping pills should never be mixed with alcohol). Hold your partner’s hand during takeoff and landing. Do it with a poker face and, most importantly, ignore his stories about airplanes. As soon as the plane reaches the desired altitude, get up and take a walk across the aircraft cabin together to finally convince your partner that there’s truly nothing to fear.
