In a Brave New World, a Heightened Fear of Flying

In the days before flying to visit her newborn grandson in Southern California, Sandra Birnbach's hands started sweating. Her stomach churned and her head throbbed. A claustrophobic, she dreaded even the thought of boarding an airplane.

And that was just the beginning. She agonized over the wait at security and, worse, a potential delay stuck sitting in the plane waiting to take off. Even though her therapist drove her to Reagan National Airport for the trip in November, Birnbach cried during the entire ride to the terminal. On board, she warned a flight attendant about her condition. She didn't want to alarm the crew or other passengers if she had a panic attack.

"I pray a lot, 'May the plane take off on time and not sit on the runway for two or three hours,' " said Birnbach, a financial planner who lives in Potomac. "There is this catastrophic feeling when I get on a plane. It's hard to explain, but it makes you feel like there is some catastrophe that is going to happen to you if you can't get off the plane."

For many people, flying is often an irritating experience. But mental health experts say few periods have been so difficult for those who suffer from severe flying anxieties and phobias. Tight security, crowding and delays have worsened their conditions.

"It's a nightmare time for people who are anxious," said Jerilyn Ross, a psychotherapist in the District who works with people afraid to fly.

The worries begin long before the anxious get to the airport. At home, they agonize about how to pack their bags to navigate security requirements limiting the amount of gels and liquids in carry-on luggage.

At the airport, travelers are warned to watch for unattended luggage and that the aviation system is under orange, or high, alert. Security lines, which sometimes take an hour to navigate, give anxious passengers plenty of time to sweat.

Once on board, claustrophobics often face another threat: Planes are increasingly packed with passengers because airlines have cut flights to boost capacity.

Also, recent news of air fatalities has left some travelers unsettled. A regional jet crashed in Kentucky in August, killing 49 people, and then two jets collided in Brazil in September. In October, television screens were filled with images reminiscent of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks after a small plane, flown by a New York Yankees pitcher and his flight instructor, slammed into a high-rise building in Manhattan. And this week, an airliner with 102 people aboard disappeared over Indonesia.

There are no statistics on how many people suffer from severe flying anxieties or phobias. But mental health experts say their patients exhibit the most extreme symptoms felt by millions of other air travelers.

"Most people today who are getting on planes, you can't not have some anxiety when you hear all of those cues around you telling you of the dangers," said Ross, who is director of the Ross Center for Anxiety & Related Disorders.

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks were rough on anxious fliers. But many didn't seek therapy because they were comfortable talking about their fears with friends and colleagues. At the time, everyone seemed to understand why flying was scary.