Admittedly uncomfortable, turbulence is not a sign of danger. It is important to follow the instructions given on board, and in particular to keep your seat belt fastened during a phase of turbulence.
When you feel anxious, it is important to control your breathing. Thus, it is advisable to hold your breath, take a deep breath, and then release your breath. Repeating the exercise can help avoid this feeling of anxiety.
Good breathing must go hand in hand with good muscle contraction. Tightening your muscles reduces the nerve signals that go up and down from the spinal cord.
At altitude, you dehydrate more quickly than on solid ground, which is why it is important to drink regularly… Water! It is also an excellent way to reduce the feeling of vertigo, a common symptom of anxiety. Also avoid:sugary foods and drinks. When crossing time zones, the biological clock is turned upside down and, in the event of high blood sugar levels, this increases the feeling of panic.
It is important to organize your time spent in the air! Why not take the opportunity to take some time for yourself, for all those things you don't have time to do every day:write a letter, watch a movie, read a novel...
For more comfort, it is important to take advantage of your flight time to get away from it all, let your imagination run wild... and project yourself into the stay to come! It's a great way to disconnect.
The wings allow the plane to fly, not the engines. It is important to remember that! A commercial aircraft flying at 30,000 feet can continue gliding for 100 miles even if all engines fail.
Pilots are the most trained and monitored professionals in the world! They go through a rigorous selection procedure before being able to take control and above all... They are reassessed every 6 months on their abilities via a flight simulator.
Commercial aircraft are regularly maintained and are subject to rigorous checks before each passenger boarding by pilots and specialized engineers.
They are all specialists trained to respect the very strict rules of aviation.
The next British Airways Flying with Confidence session, delivered by British Airways pilots and staff in the presence of a clinical psychologist, will take place on March 12, 2016 at London Gatwick. In 30 years, the British company has helped more than 50,000 passengers overcome their fear of flying to set off to discover the world with peace of mind, with a success rate of 98%.
