Guide
The best app for nervous flyers
For many nervous flyers, the hardest part is not knowing what’s coming. Flying shows how smooth your flight should be, before you board and all the way to landing.
What’s the best app for nervous flyers?
It depends on what helps you most. If knowing what to expect helps, Flying is a good fit. It shows where your flight might get bumpy, how strong it should be, and for how long, so a bump you were expecting doesn’t come as a surprise.
If your fear is strong, a course built on cognitive behavioral therapy, or a therapist who treats fear of flying, can help. These have the strongest track record, and an app like Flying can sit alongside them.
How Flying helps nervous flyers
Know before you board
See where your route gets bumpy, when it starts, and how long it lasts, usually about a day before you fly.
Your ride, summed up
A quick summary shows how much of the flight should be smooth, and how much might be light or moderate turbulence.
Smooth air counts too
When pilots near your route report smooth air, Flying tells you, not just when they report bumps.
No surprises in the air
Once you’re flying, the forecast follows your plane’s real position, so you can see what’s ahead for the rest of the route.
Honest about the bumps
Flying never sums up a bumpy ride as smooth, and when the data isn’t there, it says so. You always know where you stand.
Someone on the ground
Share your flight with a link, so family and friends can follow along and know the moment you land.
Tips for a calmer flight
Turbulence is uncomfortable, not dangerous
Airliners are built to handle far more than passengers ever feel. Most turbulence injuries happen to people who aren’t buckled in.
Keep your seat belt on
Keep it fastened whenever you’re seated, even when the sign is off. It’s the simplest protection there is.
Sit over the wing
Seats over the wings usually feel the least motion. It doesn’t change how safe you are, but the ride can feel smoother.
Try slow breathing
Breathe in for four counts, hold for four, and breathe out for four. Slow breathing helps calm your body when anxiety spikes.
Go easy on caffeine and alcohol
Both can make anxiety feel worse. Water and a snack are a better bet before and during the flight.
Get support if you need it
Courses built on cognitive behavioral therapy, and therapists who treat fear of flying, help many people fly with less fear.
Nervous flyer questions, answered.
Can an app help with fear of flying?
An app can’t replace treatment, but knowing what to expect helps many nervous flyers. Flying shows how smooth your flight should be and keeps you updated as you fly. For a strong fear, courses built on cognitive behavioral therapy have the strongest track record.
Is turbulence dangerous?
Turbulence can be uncomfortable, but airliners are built to handle far more than passengers ever feel. Most turbulence injuries happen to people who aren’t buckled in, so the best protection is simple: keep your seat belt fastened whenever you’re seated.
What do light, moderate, and severe turbulence mean?
Pilots use standard terms from the FAA. In light turbulence, you might feel a slight strain against your seat belt. In moderate turbulence, you’ll feel a definite strain, and walking is difficult. Severe turbulence brings large, abrupt changes in altitude and is rare on airline flights.
Where’s the smoothest seat on a plane?
Seats over the wings usually feel the least motion, since they’re closest to the middle of the plane. Seats at the very back tend to feel the most.
How far ahead can I see the turbulence for my flight?
In Flying, the forecast is usually ready about a day before departure, and it keeps updating until you land. Turbulence forecasts are part of Flying Pro. See how Flying’s turbulence forecast works.
Is Flying free?
Yes. Flying’s free plan includes flight alerts, your logbook, friends’ flights, airport status, and the Explore tab. Flying Pro adds Live Activities, turbulence forecasts, importing past flights, email forwarding, and calendar sync.
Fly knowing what to expect.
Turbulence forecasts for your flight, flight alerts, and more, on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Download on the App Store