Flight phobia, fear of flying, and flight anxiety are common terms describing the feelings many people experience before a flight. Statistics show that up to 40% of air travelers face some level of flight anxiety. This means that in the US alone, almost 1.2M passengers board an aircraft every day with some degree of anxiety, of which the primary trigger is turbulence.
The Impact of Flight Anxiety
Flight anxiety can vary from mild discomfort or restlessness to sleepless nights before the flight, an inability to board the aircraft, and terrifying thoughts during the flight. There have been instances where flights had to return to the gate because a passenger couldn’t continue due to their flight phobia.
The Challenge of Addressing Flight Anxiety
There are many treatments for aerophobia, including face-to-face courses, video courses, mobile apps, and indeed there are methods to help manage flight anxiety such as breathing exercises, which are highly effective in combatting anxiety and panic attacks. Turbulence: An Expected, Unexpected Part of Commercial Flights
It’s important to note that turbulence is a normal part of commercial flights. Turbulence is common in air travel, caused by natural phenomena like weather changes or air currents. Despite the discomfort it may cause passengers, modern aircraft are designed to withstand turbulence. However, as turbulence intensifies due to climate change, the safety risk it poses to passengers and crew also increases.
SkyPath: A Solution for Passengers and Cabin Crews
Imagine having data that tells exactly when turbulence will start, how severe it’s going to be, and how long it will last. This can remove the unexpected nature of turbulence and go a long way to delivering a sense of control to passengers and flight attendants. This is exactly what SkyPath does - it provides the most accurate data regarding turbulence, tailored to the route, along with timely turbulence notifications. It acts as an advisory tool to support crews to ensure smoother and safer flights for passengers. While such a solution is not available directly to passengers yet, passengers are already benefitting from the SkyPath solution with 7.5M notifications of upcoming turbulence delivered to pilots in 2024 as of writing. Ultimately providing them with a safer, more comfortable, and less anxious flight experience.
