How to get over your fear of flying

Choosing the most anxiety-producing thing about modern air travel can be, well, anxiety-producing. For instance, the Kansas City International Airport gives fearful aspiring passengers a taste of plane travel in its Kansas City Air Travel Experience Room. They offer explanations of what pilots and aircraft designers do to make air travel safe, even in the event of scary situations like severe turbulence or engine loss, Koukol says. Mutual aid In the Fear of Flying group on the community-forum website Reddit, members can use in-flight Wi-Fi to stay connected with others on the ground, who will track their flights using information from sites like FlightAware to post encouraging updates like “You’re over halfway there!" Meditation apps like Calm and Headspace also offer exercises that use breathing techniques to help manage flight-related anxiety, as do free resources like the University of California, Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center.