I suffer from (a mild form of) agoraphobia and get panicky in crowds, and this is quite common
That's odd, I said to myself, isn't that a fear of wide open spaces, not of crowded spaces?
So I looked it up, and learned something new, shared among us ignorami below.
Agoraphobia is a condition where the sufferer becomes anxious in environments that are unfamiliar or where he or she perceives that they have little control. Triggers for this anxiety may include wide open spaces, crowds, or traveling (even short distances).
and
sufferers of agoraphobia avoid public and/or unfamiliar places, especially large, open, spaces such as
shopping malls or
airports where there are few 'places to hide'
You'll recognise the Wiki links. And now back to the BA bashing.