Fear of flying is one of the most common fears among the Swedish population, and many seek professional help to get help before longer or shorter flights.
The former pilot Björn Lundström wants to calm air rescue after a flight had to turn around in Greenland when it encountered turbulence.
– The positive thing is that the forecasting tools to find out where this turbulence is located are better now than before and it is basically impossible to injure yourself if you are strapped in, says Björn Lundström.
Björn Lundström, together with a psychologist, has helped several thousand people against their fear of flying. In connection with an SAS plane on its way to Miami turning around in Greenland due to turbulence, he has said that it was the best way to handle the situation to TV4 Nyheterna.
The incident could risk making those already afraid of flying even more afraid of turbulence or similar things happening, so Björn Lundström gives his best advice on how to think about turbulence.
– You should think that it is like waves on the sea, air is invisible but there are waves in the air too. As the airplane flies through the waves, it shakes. Then I understand that you get worried, but this with the waves explains everything, says Björn Lundström.
“In principle, it’s impossible to injure yourself if you’re strapped in”
In a book he has written together with the psychologist Cecilia Gustafsson, he gives tips on how to cure your fear of flying through experiential exercises. Björn Lundström explains what happens in the event of, among other things, turbulence, thunderstorms, engine stalls or the like to reduce fear by increasing understanding of what is happening.
– There has always been turbulence as long as there have been winds on earth. The positive thing is that the forecasting tools to find out where this turbulence is located are better now than before, and it is basically impossible to injure yourself if you are strapped in, says Björn Lundström.
In the flight that ran into turbulence, a woman is said to have been injured, as she was not seat-belted. Björn Lundström also advises air travelers to always listen to the cabin crew’s information about possible turbulence. In those situations, the staff alerts that you should put on your seat belts and it is important to listen.
– It’s worse if you have serving trolleys out in the aisle, but the cabin crew know this and they usually sit down very quickly when they feel things start to shake. Even the pilot feels the shaking, what you do then is to slow down so that they become softer, says Björn Lundström.
Today 06:23