DESTINATIONS FEAR OF FLYING AVIATION


LEFT: The cabin crew reassure passengers


BELOW: Eleanor with first officer Jai Dillon


I spend most of the flight


Every flight should have Gordon’s reassuring voice telling passengers that everything is OK


running over everything I’ve learnt in my head. I take my seat next to a man


He calls it ‘practising for


success’, and I feel a bit silly as a tear or two wells up at the thought of boarding the aircraft.


 THE FLIGHT As we make our way to the terminal, I still feel anxious, but as I stand in the security queue practising the ‘breathe and


squeeze’ technique, I feel my palpitations slowly ease, the lump in my throat dissolve and my racing thoughts slow to a more manageable level. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine,” I


find myself saying to a man about my own age, who is shaking like a leaf. I find my confidence slowly growing as I board the plane,


who tells me his reason for going on the course. “My daughter lives in Australia,” he tells me. “I haven’t been out to see her yet, and she’s getting married – I need to go and meet him.” The person sitting behind me hadn’t stepped onto a plane in years, and said he’d even ripped up his ticket to Majorca at the check-in desk last summer. And yet here we are, nervously


NORTHERN LIGHTS, CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR


BOOK NOW FOR


exchanging smiles and words of encouragement as we taxi towards the runway. It’s this sense of camaraderie that makes the course so successful; it’s reassuring to know that I’m not, and never have been, alone. After a smooth ascent, with


Gordon narrating exactly what is happening, we’re coaxed out of our seats to test our new-found confidence. As I walk to the back of the plane, it feels as if every single passenger is out of their seat. The entire cabin is buzzing with chatter and laughter.


staring at the view across southern England. I’ve never looked out of a plane window like this before, and I could kick myself for missing these beautiful views for so many years. “We’re now turning around


to head back to Heathrow. Everything is absolutely fine; everything is completely normal,” says Gordon over the public address system.


I can’t help but think that


every flight should have Gordon’s reassuring voice telling passengers that everything is OK – it’s certainly enough to comfort me.


 TESTING MY CONFIDENCE Two weeks after the course, I flew from London to Jersey. Two weeks later, I took a flight from London to Rhodes. Am I cured? Not yet. I still felt


nervous. But I felt more in control of my anxiety than ever before. I practised Dr Keith’s techniques on each flight, and when turbulence hit, I mentally ran through everything I had learnt from Richard and Gordon. With more practice, I think


that eventually I’ll be just like any other passenger on a flight. But for now, I’m happy with the dramatic improvement to my flying experience. Book now: Prices for BA’s Flying With Confidence courses start at £279. flyingwithconfidence.com


INFORMATION FOR AGENTS CALL: 020 3630 1340 or e-mail: memo@icelandprotravel.co.uk All tours: www.icelandprotravel.co.uk


Y6096 66travelweekly.co.uk15 November 2018


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96