Hi Maddie,
I used to be a pretty nervous flyer. A new job which has involved nearly 200 flight sectors in the last two years has helped cure me
Other things which helped me were the realisations that:
- the things that were happening in my life ON THE GROUND were a big factor influencing my anxiety in the air
- I was usually less anxious when flying home than flying away - (so maybe the issue was more about the place I was going to than how I was getting there)
- anxiety about flying can sometimes be caused by the feeling of not being in control - so making use of what control you do have can help (e.g. choosing a seat in the middle where turbulence feels less, or getting a window seat so you can see what's going on)
- planes are heavily overengineered
- pilots are well trained and very experienced.
- airline procedures ensure that landings and take-offs only happen when the weather is within safe limits
- air travel overall is VERY safe
I flew into London City on Monday morning and as a result of the 30 mph crosswind, from my window seat I saw straight down the runway for a large part of the approach. For me it was damned impressive to have that perspective (very smooth landing by the way - BA8703 from EDI
)
However what seemed pretty remarkable for me was all in a days work for the pilot and well within the capabilities of the aircraft.
So, no reason to be anxious !
hope this helps
13Alpha