Turbulence can be scary, which is why it causes fear among tourists during the flight. The pilot, who has solid experience in aircraft control, explained how to avoid anxiety and remain calm during the aircraft’s wobble.
According to psychologists, most of the worries about turbulence come from people who predict worse and believe that turbulence will cause their plane to crash. In fact, even the strongest turbulence almost never results in a plane crash.
What advice did the pilot give to keep cool? “First, as tempting as it is, avoid alcohol. It raises your anxiety levels and it will make you feel bad when the turbulence hits, which is a bad combination. It will be difficult for a passenger with little flight experience to cope with this condition, ”the aviation expert shared.
While some passengers find that alcohol helps calm their nerves, it can increase their anxiety levels. Drinking alcohol at the airport can also make passengers feel unwell, even during the flight, if the plane enters the turbulence zone.
“Another thing is to try to distract yourself by reading a book. This tip is for those who love to read. But for me, this advice would not work – it’s hard to focus on a small piece of text when everything around is shaking and words are jumping. I would rather watch a good movie at this time and try to get distracted,” the pilot added.
Distractions are a good way to reduce excitement and anxiety if the plane gets into turbulence, and fortunately, long-haul flights have a huge range of entertainment.
“The next method is to close your eyes, imagine that you are in a hammock on the beach, where you are probably going, and the plane is rocking you,” the specialist suggested a distraction technique. Tourists can also imagine that they are sailing on a beautiful ocean if that helps calm their nerves.
In the end, you can directly tell the flight personnel about your anxious feelings. “Whenever there is a nervous passenger on board, I go down and try to calm him down, letting him know that the plane is safe. Turbulence is normal and there is really nothing to worry about,” he said. In other words, reassuring the crew and pilot can help calm an anxious passenger during turbulence.
According to the pilot, passengers should always fasten their seat belts during turbulence and follow the instructions of the crew. One TikTok commenter said the following: “There was terrible turbulence on the road to Miami, even the flight attendants looked scared. They were ordered to sit down and sit, leaving the wagons behind. It turned out that the drinks were rolling on the floor.
Why does turbulence occur?
Turbulence can be caused by a number of things: air in the atmosphere, jet streams causing wind changes, flying over mountains or tall buildings changing the wind flow in the sky above, or anything else that can cause the air flow to change. Whatever the cause, it’s important to remember that turbulence is due to a change in airflow, not because something is wrong with the aircraft itself.
Statistically, aircraft flying away from the equator, over large stretches of water or flat land, experience less turbulence than others. Passengers are more likely to experience turbulence on certain routes due to weather or flight path congestion. Thus, the New York-London overseas route is one of the options where tourists most often encounter turbulence. London-Glasgow is another point of turbulence. Rocky conditions are often caused by windy and rainy weather in the UK.
While it may sound scary, turbulence is not dangerous and modern aircraft are built to deal with it. According to experts, the plane will never sway as much as it seems to the passenger.