For millions of people in the UK who fear flying, the spiral of panic begins well before the check-in desk. Fed up with finding excuses to stay on terra firma, reporter LOUISE TWEDDELL booked a seat on Virgin Atlantic's course, Flying Without Fear.

LET me enlighten you about my relationship with the so-called safest form of transport.

I have passed up free holidays and missed celebrations.

Recently I turned what could have been a 55-minute air trip to Dublin into a 14-hour journey from hell via the Irish Sea.

When I boarded an aircraft last year I had taken enough Valium to see a demented housewife through the worst of days.

I should have saved my money it did little to prevent the involuntary shaking, breathlessness, sweaty palms and a feeling of sheer terror.

I am not sure why I have despised aeroplanes for so long but it could be the confined space, the height or even the fear of death.

If this relationship had been with a man I would have dumped him years ago so I decided to take the matter in hand.

The course, which has been running for nine years, claims a 98-per-cent success rate and although sceptical, I was willing to give it a go.

The first part of the day-long event covers the rational facts of air travel.

The second covers the psychology of fear.

Finally, there is an optional hour-long flight.

As I arrived at a hotel in Luton I met 79 other flying phobics and was glad not to be alone.

Safety in numbers, so they say.

We formed groups and shared our fears but I began to question how helpful this was.

I was suddenly fearing things I had never thought to worry about before, including metal fatigue and being struck by lightning.

After a thorough explanation of the workings and science of an aircraft it was a relief to realise there seems to be 101 back-up plans in case of emergency.

By lunchtime my thoughts turned to the flight and as anxiety set in I wondered why I was feeling worse, not better.

But after a half-hour session of relaxation therapy I opened my eyes and knew I was going to be able to board the plane.

I was genuinely not scared.

As we took off I was amazed to feel none of the usual symptoms of fear.

I focused on relaxing and thought about my new-found knowledge of aircraft.

My stomach jumped a few times as we banked left and right but nerves soon passed.

There were no screams or crying from my fellow flyers either.

As we landed there was a huge cheer, caused by a sense of achievement.

I got off the plane feeling like I had beaten it.

I am not sure whether I will ever love flying but feel I have been given the knowledge to overcome it.

I am booking a flight to Milan this afternoon and am actually looking forward to it already.

Wing and a prayer

  • There are an estimated 12 million people in the UK who have an irrational fear of flying. For some the fear can be mild but for others it means they will never board a plane.
  • Symptoms include shaking, sweating, breathlessness, panic attacks, nausea and fainting. Fears include feeling out of control, claustrophobia, suffocation and death.
  • In the past 11 years there have been no fatalities on any UK chartered flight but there are an estimated 3,000 road deaths in the UK each year.
  • More than one million people are estimated to be in the air at any one time during the night or day.
  • To find out more about the Virgin course, visit flyingwithoutfear.info or call 01423 714900. To discover more about relaxation techniques, visit relaxaudio.com