Aerophobia, or fear of flying, is a condition that keeps millions of
otherwise rational people from ever getting inside an airplane.
It can cause great distress and even panic.
But one company in Europe is reporting success in curing the phobia by
exposing sufferers to their greatest fear and helping them overcome it.
Here, Jitka Galuskova (left) may be smiling but is terrified of flying.
However, she's confronting her fears, with the help of professional pilot
Jan Hejak and a programme called iPilot.
In Prague, and eight other locations in Europe and the Middle East, people
like Jitka can meet their fears head on.
Seated alongside a professional pilot they can take off and land at more
than 24,000 simulated airports. They can see first hand how pilots like Jan
Hajek (right) do their job.
Take a look at how Jitka overcomes her fear of flying.
Following that, see the airport through the eyes of Russian pilots, and get
a cockpit view of what pilots see before they land.
In an Airbus A320 flight simulator Jitka is trying to take control of her
problem.
"I fear heights very much with the combination of enclosed space. This is
very unpleasant for me."
Jitka is one of millions around the world who suffer from aerophobia, the fear
of flying.
When she heard about Prague's new iPilot programme, she says she knew she
had to try it.
"I wanted to try to fight off the fear because this causes problems in my
private and also professional life," said Jitka.
In Prague, and eight other locations in Europe and the Middle East, people
like Jitka can meet their fears head on.
Seated alongside a professional pilot they can take off and land at more
than 24,000 simulated airports.
They can see first hand how pilots do their job.
Pilot Jan Hajek said: "We try to show our
clients the procedures inside the cockpit and
explain how we solve the problems people fear the most like
stopping engine fires, and we show them that these situations are
quite manageable and that aircraft can fly safely afterwards."
