Flying anxiety peaks in India after fatal Air India crash

Retired Air Force officer Dinesh K. has seen a surge in demand for his $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 a combination of flight simulation and counselling at his Cockpit Vista centre for “fear of flying solutions” in Bengaluru, the only one in India. The centre has received more than 100 enquiries since the disaster, compared to a previous average of about ten a month.

"Fear of flying is typically to do 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 he demonstrated how cockpit controls relate to movements that often worry passengers.

The centre has a simulator for a Boeing and Cessna plane to help people experience how landings and takeoffs appear from the cockpit and understand that not every vibration or sound during a flight signals danger.

WhatsApp messages Dinesh received, and shared with Reuters, showed individuals complaining about “losing confidence” after the crash while others said it was “too hard on the brain”.