Fear of Flying: Now It's Even Scarier Up There

These are busy times for the departure lounge bars of the world's airports. "There's no way I was getting on my flight sober," says an Australian executive about his much-delayed flight home from New York to Bangkok when airports opened after the Sept. 11 air attacks in the U.S. "And it wasn't just me. The bartender was saying she'd never worked so hard."

Fear of flying is often aggravated by catastrophe. Stress and anxiety are known to trigger phobias: many people develop an aversion to flying after an individual crisis, such as the death of a relative. And global events like the Gulf War in 1991-92 and last year's Concorde crash can elicit a mass response. Experts say the fallout from the hijackings and attacks on New York City and Washington is likely to exceed anything they've seen. Flyers have to cope with the recent deaths, fear of terrorism and a depressing world economy. "There's just so much grief around," says Jane Sexton, 30, a Hong Kong marketing executive and frequent flyer. "I'm not nervous about flying," she says, "but you're on a plane, and you can't help thinking about it. And with all the suffering, your stress does come up." Sexton says she canceled a planned holiday in India because she didn't want to be stranded there in the event of war in South Asia. Other flyers are finding that life insurers are raising premiums, or even denying coverage, for travel to certain areas. Business travelers are re-examining whether, with technology such as video conferencing available, they really need to make so many trips. And many people simply don't want to be away from home at a time of turmoil.

The impact on the travel industry has been dramatic. Asian airlines, already under pressure from higher fuel costs and slower economic growth, are warning of tumbling profits, reduced services and thousands of potential layoffs as flights to and from the U.S. fly half or even one-quarter full. Countries across the region dependent on tourism are bracing for a downturn that will be "extensive and severe," says John Koldowski, spokesman for the Pacific Asia Travel Association. Destinations favored by Americans—like Hawaii, the Philippines, Fiji, Japan and Taiwan—will be particularly hard hit.

The paranoia level has grown to the point that airlines sometimes are throwing people off flights simply because nervous fellow passengers deem them "suspicious." When an Indian passenger told an American he was a bass guitarist, which another traveler misheard as "Bosnian terrorist," he and another Indian flying with him were booted off a Singapore Airlines flight preparing to leave for Hong Kong. Northwest ground staff refused to board three Iraqi-born Americans on a flight from Minneapolis to Salt Lake City, and two Pakistani businessmen were marched off a US Airways Florida-Baltimore shuttle when the pilot refused to take off with them on board and suggested they take a train.

Counselors around the world run courses to help people cope with the fear of flying—which affects some 20-25% of passengers. "A classic symptom of a phobia is avoidance," says Peter Hughes, a British Airways pilot with 34 years' experience who runs programs for flying phobics in Britain. "People are simply staying on the ground. They don't feel ready to address their fears." In Asia that kind of avoidance is particularly strong. "It's the whole psychology of loss of face," says Hughes, "never admitting to having a fear, never mentioning it." This may be one reason why the nearest course for Asians who fear flying is Qantas' Fearless Flyers Clinic in Sydney. Call (61-2) 9522-8455 for information.

Help may be on the way to Asia. Hughes hopes to offer courses in Hong Kong soon, while the Valk Foundation, a phobia-research institute in the Netherlands, is considering running courses in Japan. In the meantime, here are some tips for fearful flyers in Asia.

Experts agree that the key to facing down fear is knowledge: find out as much as possible about the mechanics of flight and plane safety systems as well as the causes of anxiety. Equally invaluable—however frightening—is experience. Debbie Seaman, who beat her own fear of flying at the Qantas clinic in Sydney and went on to write The Fearless Flier's Handbook, says: "Most of all, if we don't 'get back on the horse,' we're helping the fear take over. A phobia erodes self-esteem in other areas of life and spreads like a cancer." She advises phobic flyers to desensitize themselves: arrive at the airport early to watch planes take off and land. On boarding, alert the crew or even ask to speak to the pilot. The experience of the cabin staff and captain often inspires confidence, says Seaman. For the truly terrified, adds Hughes, all flights carry tranquilizers such as Valium or Temazepam, which crews can give to needy passengers. One thing nobody is recommending, however, is any more drinking.