Feeling anxious about flying is very common, and for some people it can be quite distressing. We know it can feel upsetting to know we don’t prescribe Benzodiazepines, when you’re dreading a flight, so we want to explain our policy, and more importantly explain what we can offer to help.
Our position on Diazepam and similar medicines
We don’t prescribe Diazepam (or similar Benzodiazepines) for fear of flying. This isn’t because your request is unreasonable but because the evidence doesn’t support it as a safe or effective option:
- These medicines aren’t licensed or recommended for phobias, including flight anxiety
- They can slow reaction times and impair judgement, which matters if there’s ever an emergency on board, for you and for everyone else on the flight
- A small number of people experience the opposite of sedation: agitation or disinhibited behaviour, which can cause real problems in the air
- They’re controlled drugs, illegal to bring into some countries, and can show up in workplace drug testing
Because of this, prescribing them for flying would go against the guidance we’re required to follow.
Is there any medication we can offer?
For some patients, a short course of a beta-blocker such as Propranolol can help with the physical symptoms of anxiety, a racing heart, shaking, sweating without the sedation or impaired judgement risks of Diazepam. It isn’t suitable for everyone (for example, if you have Asthma or certain heart conditions), so we’ll need to check your medical history first.
You can request this via the online consultation form on our website; an appointment isn’t needed unless you’d also like to talk about broader anxiety or mental health support.
What can help
The good news is there are approaches that work better than sedation, because they address the anxiety itself rather than just numbing it for one flight:
Fear-of-flying courses — run by airlines and specialists, combining how flying works in reality, with anxiety-management techniques (resonance breathing, grounding techniques such as listening to calming music or using a fidget toy, CBT-based strategies). Many people find one of these enough on its own:
- British Airways Flying with Confidence — one-day and online courses
- Virgin Atlantic / Lovefly Flying Without Fear — course, free ebook, and podcast
Self-help apps — useful if you want to build skills in your own time, or alongside a course:
- NHS Every Mind Matters — NHS self-assessment and anxiety self-help tools
- SAM: Self-help for Anxiety Management — free app built with NHS clinicians, with a mood tracker and coping toolkit
Flying soon and short on time? Courses often need booking a few weeks ahead, and waits for talking therapy can vary, so the apps and self-help guides above are the quickest place to start if your flight is coming up.
If anxiety is affecting other parts of your life
If flying anxiety is just one part of a wider problem with anxiety — or if it’s been getting in the way of work, sleep, relationships or day-to-day life — that’s worth addressing properly, and we’d like to help with that.
You can refer yourself directly, without seeing a GP first, to:
Camden and Islington NHS Talking Therapies (iCope)
Free CBT-based support for anxiety, depression, and related difficulties.
- Self-refer online: camdenandislingtontalkingtherapies.nhs.uk
- Phone: 020 3317 7252
- Email: nlft.icopeislington.referrals@nhs.net