The Experience of Nervous Flyers
When a commercial jet is about to take off, some passengers experience intense anxiety. Symptoms include a racing heart and sweating palms, alongside fears of potential disaster. Hanna, a 38-year-old commercial pilot, once struggled to reassure these passengers with aviation safety facts alone.
“They’d still get off, say that it helped slightly but that they’d panicked again,” Hanna told Newsweek.
Two and a half years ago, Hanna decided to combine her expertise in flying with an understanding of psychology, yoga, and breathwork. This new approach helped her amass over 28,000 followers on Instagram, where she posts as @flying_wingwoman. Her message is simple: calming anxious flyers requires addressing the body’s reactions first.
Hanna’s Aviation Journey
Hanna’s route to becoming a pilot was unique. She began her aviation career in childhood. Her mother worked as cabin crew, allowing Hanna to grow up around planes, exploring flight decks and marveling at the operation. She later pursued flight training while working full-time in the cabin crew, eventually landing her first pilot role soon after completing her training.
Beyond Facts: Understanding the Fearful Flyer
The turning point in Hanna’s approach came after starting her psychology degree and becoming a yoga and breathwork instructor. She realized discussing aviation facts alone wasn’t enough to calm nervous flyers.
“When someone is anxious and panicking about flying, facts are not going to calm that because the rational side of the brain has gone out the window,” Hanna explained.
During flights, fear can incapacitate the rational parts of the brain essential for processing facts. The brain prioritizes survival over rational thought when perceiving danger, according to Hanna.
The Power of Breathing Techniques
Hanna notes that takeoff often induces more anxiety than turbulence, as it’s the start of the journey when anxiety peaks. While she continues providing aviation facts, she emphasizes the importance of deep breathing to regain control over mind and body.
Her techniques have been effective. Passengers frequently report feeling calm for the first time when using her breathing exercises. This success led Hanna to expand her support for nervous flyers globally, transforming in-flight reassurance into broader guidance packaged as a 30-second breathing exercise.
“There is zero judgment from me for this fear,” she said. “Everyone thinks they’re being irrational, but I just think it’s their brain working normally to perceived danger.”
Messages of success continue to pour in. People have overcome longstanding fear or flown without panic, thanks to Hanna’s guidance.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Kara Dolman and Tony Phillips.