There are on average 659 take offs and landings from London’s Heathrow every day. A total percentage of around 40% of passengers suffer from some degree of anxiety about flying it can be triggered by a number of concerns such as a fear of falling, a fear of take-off and landing, a fear of crashing and a fear of flying over water. Some common symptoms are as follows, muscle tension and or tremors, difficulty breathing, dry mouth flushed or pale face, chest pain and heart palpitations, abdominal discomfort and or vomiting, sweating dizziness and weakness. These odds of death from various cases will prove how little we need to fear flying however. Whether in a streamlined commercial carrier or helicopter. Commercial airline 1in 7 million, bee sting 1 in 5.5,lighning 1 in 1.1,smoking 1 in 600 and heart disease 1in 2. So why exactly are so many people so afraid of modern aviation? Well were here to find out as we travel around the south searching for the answers.

My chat with the air hostess did little to put my mind at ease having flown on multiple occasions beforehand hearing the same corporate Smalltalk my ears had been rattled with so many times before.

The reassurance form Sgt David Gault greatly boosted my confidence he assured me there was a next to know accident rate when it came to casual test flights and flybys but there was never any guarantee that  your flight would be a safe one. This again left me with reservation how can a man who loves flying truly understand the mind of one who doesn’t.

I’ve always been one to try new things and many herbal remedies and natural medicines have been in use for centuries to cure anxiety, but honestly how many medieval peasants can say they fancied popping off to Stansted to catch a cheeky off-peak flight to France, so I can say I’m more than a little sceptical.

My GP who had been taking care of my health and wellbeing was once again consistently sympathetic, being patient and taking the time to listen to my concerns and prescribing the most commonly accepted and prescribed dose of valium to consumed exactly 3 hours before my flight.