Monday, September 30, 2013

aviophobia - 1 person in 10 will not fly

 

It's not hard to find people who hate flying, and the intrusive security resulting from the Muslim terrorist attacks and attempts from the early 2000s has only made that worse. For many who can only afford cattle class, a.k.a. coach or economy, the dislike is to do with discomfort. We are among those who dislike flying for these reasons, unless we get a window seat on a clear day, which compensates.

Aviophobia, however, is the fear of flying, a level of anxiety so great that it prevents a person from traveling by air, or causes great distress to a person when he or she is compelled to travel by air. Apparently about 1 person in 10 will simply not fly unless they really have to.  For a country like NZ which is surrounded by sea and a long way from anywhere else (even a voyage to Australia will take 3 days by sea on a container ship), that has an obvious economic impact.

There are several courses offered that should help people overcome irrational fears in various countries including online (some free) - a list is on this webpage

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