Fear of flying in civil aviation personnel.

ABSTRACT

Included in a multi-faceted questionnaire concerning the work environment within a commercial airline were questions on flight anxiety and exposure for critical incidents. A total of 1,147 respondents were included in the sample. Results show that 9.2% of the aircrew members feel anxious or afraid of flying monthly or more often. The cockpit crewmembers were less anxious than the cabin crewmembers, and female cabin crewmembers were more anxious than male. Aircrew who had experienced critical situations and had not sufficiently worked through their experiences, reported more anxiety than those with adequate work-through. We recommend that the cabin crewmembers be provided with better information on how the flight deck operates, and that more stable work crews and co-training of cabin and cockpit crewmembers be facilitated. A formal debriefing routine after critical incidents is advised. Personnel with flight anxiety should be offered help to reduce their fear level.