How to Keep Fear of Flying From Grounding Your Career

It’s understandable if the recent spate of high-profile airplane crashes around the world has made you nervous about flying.

Three airline disasters in eight days last month have pushed the number of dead or missing this year to more than 700, putting 2014 on track to be the worst year for airline fatalities since at least 2010. With 464 fatalities, July was the fifth worst month in aviation history, according to the Air Safety Network.

In the aftermath of these tragedies, aviation experts and many news outlets issued the standard post-crash reassurance that flying is still much safer than most forms of travel, including driving a car.

But even if flying isn’t more dangerous, the fear of it can have a big impact on your life and your career. If you're anxious about air travel, you may turn down opportunities to attend important business conferences. And even if you can get on the plane, you may be too anxious to sleep and emerge from the trip exhausted. If you need to work during the flight, anxiety can sap your productivity.

The medications you might take to cope can leave you fuzzy just when you need to be sharp for a client meeting or a speech. At its worst, a fear of flying may keep you from rising the corporate ladder.

“The impact on careers is pretty clear and often striking," says Dr. James Abelson, director of the Anxiety Disorders Treatment program at the University of Michigan. "We regularly see people who shy away from jobs that would require them to fly and even turn down promotions.”

Who Suffers the Most

Exactly how many people suffer from a fear of flying is unknown. Some surveys find that about 25% of people are nervous about air travel. In a July poll, 36% of Americans said that recent political turmoil has made them afraid to fly internationally. But true aviaphobics make up just 6% of the population, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Whatever the stats, there’s no doubt that millions are anxious about getting airborne.

The phobia is more common among those who are successful, says Dr. Martin Seif, a psychologist who specializes in anxiety disorders and operates a fear of flying program called Freedom To Fly. That may be because people with hard-driving, Type-A personalities get uncomfortable when they aren’t in control. Plus, workers in management and executive positions are more likely to have to get on a plane for the job, says Seif.

Indeed, a number of successful celebrities, from sports stars like Wayne Gretzky to entertainers like Aretha Franklin, suffer from a fear of flying that has affected their careers.

In a terrible twist of fate, the teammate that hockey legend Wayne Gretzky credited with helping him overcome his fear of flying later died in one of the planes that crashed on 9/11. In a 2001 Sports Illustrated tribute, Gretzky wrote that former teammate Ace Bailey, who played his last season as a pro on the Edmonton Oilers when Gretzky was a rookie, was the only one who could calm him during a flight. Ace, then a professional scout, was on United Airlines flight 175, which crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center. “It's so sad and ironic that Ace died in an airplane because he helped me more than anyone else,” Gretzky wrote. “He was so strong and calm, and when he told me that everything would be O.K., I believed him.” Denis Brodeur—NHLI via Getty Images

Ben Affleck’s fear of flying goes back to a scary incident in his childhood, he told Jay Leno in a 2010 Tonight Show interview. Affleck, who began acting as a child, was flying alone to Washington, D.C. for work. His plane was hit by lightening, and an engine caught fire. The plane made a successful emergency landing, but, Affleck said, "it scared the lights out of me.” Bauer-Griffin—GC Images

You’d never know that Sandra Bullock had a fear of flying from her work in Gravity. Bullock said she developed her fear in 2002 after a corporate jet she was on skidded off a Wyoming runway. Though she was unhurt, the plane’s nose was sheared off and both wings were damaged. In an interview in the New York Times, Bullock said filming Gravity forced her to face her fears. She signed on to do the movie even though filming involved long scenes inside a jetliner that simulated weightlessness by climbing sharply and plunging. “I convinced myself it was the universe telling me I needed to get over my fear,” she said. ©Warner Bros—Courtesy Everett Collection

Film director Stanley Kubrick was so terrified of flying that he shot many of his films in Britain, his adopted home, according to the UK publication The Express. The Vietnam War movie Full Metal Jacket was shot in Kent and Essex, while the creepy Overlook Hotel from his classic horror film The Shining was created at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire. An orgy scene at a Manhattan mansion in Eyes Wide Shut was filmed at Highclere Castle, now better known as the location for Downton Abbey. © Sunset Boulevard—Corbis

Basketball player Royce White’s anxiety disorder, which includes a fear of flying, halted his NBA career before it got going. White was drafted by the Houston Rockets in 2012 but never played. Afraid to fly, he asked to travel by bus to as many games possible. But unable to come to an agreement, the Rockets traded White to the Philadelphia 76s. Earlier this year, he signed a 10-day contract with the Sacramento Kings. He is currently a free agent. Rich Pedroncelli—AP

After a turbulent flight on a small plane back in 1982, Aretha Franklin stopped flying for decades. The soul singer didn’t attend her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and even turned down an invitation to perform for the Queen of England. But she is ready to confront her fears. In an interview with The Muskegon Chronicle of Muskegon, Mich., where she was scheduled to perform this summer, Franklin said that she is taking fear of flying classes. "Flying would make my life a lot easier," she said. Roberta Parkin—Getty Images

Retired NFL coach and TV sportscaster John Madden, who famously traveled in a customized bus dubbed the Madden Cruiser, attributed his fear of flying to claustrophobia. In an interview with American Sportscasters Online, Madden said, “When I coached, I flew all the time. I would get in there. They would shut the door, and I would feel that I have to get out. And then have a panic attack. It happened three times, and on the third time, I said, this is it. If I get down from this one, I’m never going to get on another airplane the rest of my life, which I didn’t.” Focus On Sport—Getty Images

What You Can Do

Whether you’re a celeb or a worker bee, you can take advantage of online resources, in-person programs, and even apps to get your fears under control and limit the damage to your career.

Several airports and airlines offer workshops to help nervous flyers, according to USA Today. At Phoenix Sky Harbor International, a fear-of-flying class convenes monthly, with an advanced session that allows students to test their coping strategies on an actual flight. Captain Ron Nielson, a commercial airline pilot for 40 years, runs the Fearless Flight program. Milwaukee's General Mitchell airport's Overcome Your Fear of Flying program is headed by Dr. Michael P. Tomaro, an aviation psychologist and certified flight instructor. San Francisco's International airport hosts a fear-of-flying clinic that will run five workshops this year. A few international airlines, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, also offer programs.

Seif’s Freedom to Fly program is airport based. Students go through the airport security, board the plane, and take short flights to learn how to deal with anxiety management. He also offers individual counseling sessions.

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America offers a number of articles and lists resources for overcoming fear of flying.

SOAR, an organization started in 1982 by Captain Tom Bunn, a licensed therapist and airline captain, sells DVDs and one-on-one counseling sessions. It has also developed an app to manage anxiety on the go, with videos, relaxation exercises, and turbulence forecasts for your flight. The VALK Foundation, a Dutch institute that studies and treats the fear of flying, also has an app to help anxious passengers.

Simple techniques, such as doing slow controlled rhythmic breathing, can also help. The best cure for fear of flying: flying.

“The active ingredient in overcoming any fear is exposure," says Seif. "The more you fly, the easier it is.”

How to Keep Fear of Flying From Grounding Your Career

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