Industry leaders spotlight importance of support for passengers with anxiety

The fear of flying is common, affecting around 40 percent of the population. Giving travellers the necessary tools to combat flight anxiety throughout their journey, from taxi to landing, is a key part of how IFE suppliers FlightPath3D and Anuvu are enhancing the passenger experience.

“I have no doubt we have all flown with someone who has anxiety when flying or have been stressed ourselves,” says Simon Cuthbert, VP, Content Licensing and Distribution, Anuvu. “Providing content that helps manage this stress and anxiety when showcased prominently leads to some of the most emphatic and positive NPS reviews.”

Cuthbert also tells PAX Tech that supporting passengers through their flight anxiety with appropriate content options has been known to generate loyalty to a particular airline brand.

As Duncan Jackson, President, FlightPath3D, says, “A major cause of flight anxiety is the unknown.”

Empowering passengers with information

If passenger flight anxiety is often caused by fear of the unknown, then it follows that having more information about the journey should increase comfort. This is the idea behind FlightPath3D’s latest inflight map feature, Control Tower mode, now flying on United Airlines.

“Passengers often do not know why they are waiting on the runway or why a delay is happening,” Jackson explains. “With Control Tower mode, they can visually track their aircraft's position and any traffic around them, offering reassurance that their flight is progressing as expected.”

Control Tower mode gives passengers a real-time, air traffic controller-style view of the flight position on the airfield. They can see exactly where the aircraft is during taxi, how many planes are ahead in the departure queue and the exact location upon landing.

“This transparency eliminates uncertainty, giving travellers a clearer understanding of their journey's progress, reducing the need to rely solely on pilot announcements,” says Jackson. “Especially during turbulence, seeing the flight’s location, altitude and estimated time to arrival provides a sense of predictability, making the experience feel more controlled and less stressful.”

Jackson predicts the future of inflight engagement will focus on increased personalization and deeper context to enhance the passenger experience, especially for anxious travellers. He says a key part of this will include integrated AI, like FlightPath3D’s flight companion, LUCI, to address passengers’ specific needs. It will also require curated digital content.

A mindful approach to air travel

In February, Anuvu signed an exclusive agreement with Headspace, the provider of the Headspace mental health app. This partnership brings a variety of mindfulness and meditation content to inflight audiences, including tools for stress, anxiety, sleep and mindful living.

“We thought Headspace would be a great brand to reintroduce to the inflight space. We have a curated selection of 25 hours of content specifically designed for the airplane environment across a variety of topics and needs,” Cuthbert reveals.

Headspace has more than 100 million downloads worldwide and is used in 200 countries, meaning many travellers are already familiar with the audio content. With this partnership, guided meditations designed for anxiety and other common concerns will be available to passengers inflight.

“The app has actually been used in clinical trials as a coping tool for high-stress environments and was found to increase wellbeing and have positive outcomes on the control group,” Cuthbert explains.

He says there is an increasing demand from airlines for wellness-focused IFE content, which is why Anuvu is focusing on dedicated partnerships, signing a new brand partner every month, to bring these normally paywalled experiences to passengers for the first time.

Anuvu targets five content pillars that airlines cite as gaps in traditional content deals: Shortform Social Content (Tiktok, YouTube shorts), Kids, Sports, Wellness and Learning.

Jackson also believes shortform social content is an important part of keeping passengers feeling engaged and confident throughout the inflight.

“We aim to integrate this experience into the flight, shifting passengers' focus toward their destination with immersive discovery content,” he says of FlightPath3D’s approach to personalizing the passenger journey. “By continuing to innovate in these areas, we’re making air travel more informative, immersive and stress-free, allowing every passenger to feel in control of their journey.”