From takeoff to landing, students experience flying in varying ways, with some gripping the armrest, others sleeping, and others enjoying the views. Flying can be a range from thrilling to terrifying to just another thing, depending on the person. Although airplanes are one of the safest forms of transport and have been in use commercially for over 100 years, many students have mixed feelings about flying. Some enjoy their time in the air, others might be anxious or fearful, and others have never had the chance to feel either.
Many students said their fear of flying does not come from a disaster but from smaller personal concerns that affect comfort during a flight.
“I do have fears, but not major danger,” said John McNally (‘26). “More specifically, I think I might break the seat, or maybe there is a crying baby the entire time. I’m more afraid of annoyances than major danger.”
For some students, the sense of safety changes depending on the environment, situation, and where the plane is.
“Usually I feel pretty safe while flying,” said Peter Lipatov (’26). “I get more scared when I’m over the ocean or if I’m looking out the window and all I see is water, mostly on international flights, but as long as I’m over land, I feel perfectly safe.”
Airline choice also influences how comfortable students feel while flying.
“I always fly Delta. I think in Atlanta, especially, it’s the norm because they have such a big influence here,” said McNally. “We fly [Delta] because we just think it’s the safest.”
The variable of uncontrollability can cause students to have heightened anxiety or fear while flying. However, Brady Wright (‘27), who is training to be a pilot, found that this fear disappeared once he entered the cockpit.
“I think flying can be a foreign concept to people since they don’t really know what happens,” said Wright. “I feel like I’ve become less scared of flying ever since I took control of it, since I am in the process of getting my license. And I could give the [steering wheel] to someone just to hold, and they would be fine because it’s really safe up there.”
The first experience for students on a plane can be especially nerve-racking due to a lack of prior knowledge and the fact that flying is a unique experience.
“My first time on a plane, I honestly felt more worried because I wasn’t really in control of the situation, because I didn’t really know what was going on,” said Wright. “Now that I have flown myself and have seen how flying works, I just feel like I have more of a sense of control over what’s going on, and I’m less anxious about leaving things up to fate.”
These first-time experiences can bring out major emotions.
“I felt super scared my first time flying,” said Lipatov. “I was the crying kid on the flight because I was just super nervous about the new experience.”
Whether students have anxiety or nerves, statistics support the safety of flying as one of the safest forms of transportation, as the odds of dying in a plane crash are one in 11 million according to The Hill.
“I think there’s no reason to be nervous because it is a long journey to get to be a commercial pilot,” said Wright. “[They] need thousands of hours to even be considered [to fly], so you are not their first flight. They know what they’re doing, and it is so much safer than getting in your car, in my opinion.”
