Fear of flying has a new meaning

Associated Press

Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happened on Gary Hickey’s flight from Phoenix to Seattle. In Gary Hickey’s brain, however, all hell was breaking loose.

He was among the first wave of travelers as airlines resumed flights this week following Tuesday’s terrorist attacks. Despite official assurances that air travel is safe, many passengers remain dubious, and psychologists say heightened fears of flying may linger for years.

For Hickey, 34, a truck mechanic from Richland, the jitters began as he waited Thursday afternoon in the Phoenix terminal for his 2 1/2-hour flight to Seattle on an Alaska Airlines jet. He couldn’t help thinking that every fellow passenger was a potential terrorist, and he scanned the crowd for suspicious faces.

In the air, a man two rows behind him started complaining loudly about not being allowed to change seats. Hickey turned to size up the guy, resolving to tackle him if he made any threatening moves.

He didn’t. But a few minutes later, as the jetliner entered a bank of clouds, Hickey started feeling claustrophobic. Later still, when the engines slowed slightly, Hickey bolted awake from a nap and wondered what was wrong.

Everything was fine, but Hickey couldn’t shake his feelings of dread, and he spent the next hour on his own phantom flight of doom. He imagined what passengers aboard the hijacked jetliners must have seen and felt as they zoomed toward the World Trade Center. He fantasized about what he would have done had he been aboard the plane that crashed into a Pennsylvania field.

By the time he landed — perfectly safe — Hickey had a whopping headache. He stepped into the arms of his relieved wife, Linda, and made a resolution on the spot.

"I’m not going to fly again, unless it’s an absolute emergency," he said. "I’ll drive instead."

Hickey has plenty of company. Even before this week, a Gallup poll reported that 21 percent of air travelers say they are scared all or most of the time they are flying. Now, with worries about more terrorist attacks, fear-of-flying support groups and Web sites are reporting an increase in people seeking help.

"You wouldn’t expect any individual to feel normal about flying right now," said Curtis Hsia, a psychologist at Boston University’s Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders.

This week’s tragedies have blurred the distinctions between a reasonable fear and an irrational phobia, he said, and only the passing of time with no more terrorist acts will clear that up.

"We have to wait and see what’s reasonable," Hsia said. "My guess is that, as time goes on and more planes take off and land with no hijackings, people will become more assured. It may not be weeks. It may be months or years for some individuals."

Many airlines are waiving change fees and refunding supposedly nonrefundable tickets for travelers too scared to fly, and many are taking them up on the offer.

"Some people are saying it’s just not the time for them to be traveling right now," said George Howell, director of sales and marketing for Doug Fox Travel and Cruise in Seattle.

Since Tuesday, his company has received 69 refund requests from air travelers, compared to a usual 20 per week.