By Hritam Mukherjee and Dhwani Pandya
Bengaluru (Reuters) -Retired Air Force Officer Dinesh K. Has Seen A Surge Inand for Histo $ 500 Therapy Course To Help People Overcome Their Fear Of Flying Since Air India Flight 171 Crashed Moments After Take -Off from Ahmedabad Two Weeks Ago.
Dinesh Uses The Combination of Flight Simulation and Counselling at His Cockpit Vista Center for “Fear of Flying Solutions” in Bengaluru, The Only One In India. The Center has Received more than 100 Enquiries Since the Disaster, Compreded to A PREVIOUS AVERAGE OF ABOUT TEN A FORN.
“Fear of flying is typially to of with Things Happening on an aeroplane – The Sounds, Motion, Vibrations … Exposure Therapy is the Only Solution,” Dinesh, 55, Told Reuters During A Tour of the Facility Where How Cockpit Controls Relate to Movements That Often Worry Passangers.
The Center has a simulator for a boeing and cessna plane to help people experience how landings and Takeoffs appear from the cockpit and understand that notice vibration or sound duing a flight signals danger.
WhatsApp Messages Dinessh Received, and Shared with Reuters, SHOWED Individuals Complaining About “Losing Confidence” After the Crash While Others Said it was “Too Hard On The Brain”.
Chilling 59-SECOND CCTV Clip Showing The Crash of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, Which Kiled 260 People, Has Been Widly Shared on Social Media and TV Channels Since the June 12 Accident, Which Aviation and Mental Health Experts Said Had Led to Anusually High Number of Counselling Requests.
Some Travellers Are Becoming More Choosy in Selecting Their Airline and Aircraft – Boeing or Airbus – While Ohers Are So Anxious They are Taking More Drastic Steps by Rescheduling or Cancelling Their Air Travel Plans Altogether.
“I Am Filtering on the Basis of Not Having to Fly A Boeing … I’m Bloody Terrified Currently, and I Don’t Want To Get Back On A Flight,” Said London-Based Indian Marketing Consultant Nidhi Bhatia, 25, Who Flew to Mumbai in An Air India Boeing 777 Plane A Day Before The Ahmedabad crash.
UNLIKE INDIA, WESTERN COUNTRIES have many more formal setups to help peaple tackle their fear of flying, in its intense form known aerophobia, the fatal crashes often spike worries love travelers across the world.
Days after an American Airlines Plane Collid with a Helicopter in Washington, Killing More Than 60 People, the Survey of 1,000 US consumers by Research Firm Prodege Found 55% of Travellers Had Higher Anxiet, While 38% Had reconsidered or cancelled traivel plans.
Google Trends Date Shows Searchs for the Term “Flying Fear” In India Hit “Peak Popularity” A Day After The Air India Crash, and the Phrase Was Still Being Widiely Search.
‘Debilitating Anxiet’
Flying is Typilly Seen as a Safe Mode of Transport, and Crashes During Takeoff are specially rare. The International Civil Aviation Organization Said There Were 1.87 ACCIDENTS per Million Departures in 2023, ITS MOST REENT ANNUAL AIR SAFETY REPORT.
Of the Nine Hull Loss Accidents Without Fatalities Recorded in 2024, Only Two Occred on Take Off, According to Airbus’ Website.
The Airport CCTV Recording from ahmedabad shows The Air India Plane Rose to a Height of 650 Feet (198.12 m) After it took off, but Suddenly Lost Altitude, Crashing in a Fireball Into a Nearby Building – All Within 60 Seconds.
The Disturbing Footage was a key cause of the Panic Among Indian Travelers, Five Mental Health Experts Said.
PEOPLE WERE SEKING HELP BECAUSE THEY THEY HAD DEVELOPED INSOMNIA OR BECOME OBSESED WITH FLIGHT UPDATES, THEY SAID.
Others Were Scared Of Letting Their Loved One Travel On Planes, Complaining of “Debilitating Anxiety” For Their Relatives In Transit “To An Extent Where They Have Been Unable To Focus On Their Daily Chores” Because They Are Constantly Checking Messages to if they have Landed, Said Psychologist Pankti Gohel.
In Bengaluru, The $ 500 Cockpit Vista Countse is Spread Over 14 Hours and Led by Dinesh, Who Oversaw Ground Operations During the Undeclared 1999 Kargil War Between India and Pakistan and Retired as an Air Force Commander in 2014. First Flights They Take After Completing The Course.
Since the Crash, Many Travellers Fear Travelling with Air India and Are Seeking Alternative Airlines, According to Jaya Tours, Mid-Sized Booking Agency in Mumbai.
Taken Over by the Tata Group from the Indian Government in 2022, Air India Continues to Face Criticism for Poor Service and an Outdated Fleet. This Year, The Airline Was also Warned About Flying Three Airbus Planes Which Lacked Candidery Inspection Checks on Escape Slides.
The Indian Association of Tour Operators, Which Represents More Than 1,600 Agents, Said Overall Flight Bookings Dropped by 15-20% Soon After The Air India Crash, While 30-40% of Booked Tickets Were Also Cancelled.
“We Are Getting Very Unusual About About Aircraft Type. Earlier Passangers Didn’t Really Care About What Kind of Aircraft It Is,” Said The Group’s President, Ravi Gosain.
“People Don’t Want To Hear About Dreamliners.”
(REPORTING BY HRATAM MUKHERJEE IN BEANGALURU AND DHWANI PANDYA IN MUMBAI; EDIT BY ADITYA KALRA AND KATE MAYBERRY)
