intellectual56

There is nothing worse than being stuck on a hot plane on the tarmac without hearing from the flight crew in a small regional jet, sitting in the window seat.

I was sitting next to a huge man who took up half my seat and the air-conditioning was not on so the temps on the plane was over 90 degrees.

We left the gate on time but then taxied out to a isolated part of the airport and the pilot just shut off the engine and we sat there and sat there and sat there! Finally after about 45 minutes the Pilot came on the PA system and said there was a air traffic control issue and we would be sitting there for an indefinite amount of time.

He would not let people get up because we could move into an active run way at any time. I felt so trapped and so alone. I started to panic and have the worst case of claustrophobia.

Finally after sitting on the tarmac for three hours we started to move. It took us another hour of slowly moving to the runway before we moved into position to take off.

We finally arrived to a closed airport seven hours after departure. I missed my connection and was forced to spend the night in the airport and did not sleep a wink. The next open flight was not until almost supper time the next day.

I could have driven there in less time. Is it all worth the hassle? Anyone else have a panic attack from being closterphobic during a long flight delay?

suze

one word... Valium

suze

Seriously, if it was truly a "panic attack" you need to see your doctor. That is a medical condition that you can get help for.

If you're just using the term to mean you weren't a happy camper, that's entirely different. While I have felt claustrophobic sitting on a plane, I honstly have to say I never felt "so alone"!

tengohambre

Try using an I-Pod. Seriously. Load it with your favorite music and when bored, or waiting forever on a tarmac-bound plane, find a favorite song and get lost in it. There's a reason athletes use music right before a big race, even up to the time they approach the starting block. Good luck.

Jaya

We can give you better advice if you describe your symptoms! What did you feel, how long did it last, did you do anything that helped it go away, etc.???
Terms like panic attack and claustrophic attack are too broad and can mean totally different things to different people.
I sympathize with your problem, but don't want to offer up advice that may be incorrect to your situation.

Orlando_Vic

Talk to your family MD about your experience and how your body reacted. Perhaps having a small supply of Valium (diazepam) or Xanax (alprazolam) for such episodes (however rare) would keep you relatively stable when your stress levels start to peak.

Dana_M

I can't sit in anything but an aisle seat. I've never had what I consider a panic attack (on a plane or otherwise). However, if seated in a window or middle seat on a plane, I get so fidgety I cannot stay seated in flight. I understand intellectual56's statement. While not necessarily a medical condition (although it could be) claustrophobia rears its ugly head in hot, confined surroundings.

annw

You've described a remarkably vile experience, between the delays sitting on the ground, the lack of personal space, and the heat. (The last two times out of JFK it's been similar delays-- two hours sitting on the runway with the engine off, then another hour actually to take off.)

It seems to me, though, that there are two overlapping conditions: a stressful, extremely irritating and frustrating travel experience; and a fear of containment/being enclosed in small space, or the anxiety reaction.

For the former, whether it's worth it really depends--if the experience you had was routine on that route, yes it would be better to drive; OTOH, if this were a fluke and usually air would be more efficient than driving, that's another story. Of course only you can assess pros and cons for you.

For the latter, if you often have anxiety regarding confinement, you could consider getting some coaching or cognitive behavioral therapy to have a long-term cure. For the short term, as others have suggested, medications are available for occasional use.

Yes, I've had a like experience, on one flight, of
1. two hour delay out of Rome, then hour on the runway, missing my connecting flight at JFK when I finally arrived there;
2. not getting a seat out on the same airline on the next flight out, requiring me to stay over in NYC, until 3. the cabbie couldn't find the dive motel I found through the airline, and returned to the airport and bought the last seat out of JFK that night on Jet Blue, ending up in the MIDDLE SEAT after flying 24 hours and being so tired I was twitching, and then of course
4. JetBlue plane was 90 min late boarding, then two hours in the plane on the ground on the runway waiting for rain to stop, and then another hour to the takeoff.

The only thing that works for me is trying to make the little space I do have into private space, with an ipod as mentioned above, or closing my eyes and going to my "happy place," or watching the entertainment, all accompanied by diaphragmatic breathing, relaxation exercises, and the like. Usually by the time I feel this bad I am also too tired and twitchy to read a good book.

suze

Agreeing with others there a couple things being talked about in the same breath here, that are not necessarily the same thing.

Claustrophobia, anxiety or panic attacks are very specific conditions with reactions of a very specific type. A doctor can help you deal with this in a number of ways.

That said, no one wants to sit around on the tarmac for 3 hours without air conditioning. Believe me, no one else on that plane was any happier than you were.

Obviously this is not the normal situation and only you can judge if it is worth the hassle to fly, or if you'd rather drive instead.

socialworker

HI--did this happen recently? I ask, b/c a plane we took recently had the AC off for about 5 min while awaiting take-off and I do not have claustrophobia--but the heat became nearly unbearable in those 5 min. Also the heat coupled with the absence of air moving that the AC provides , made one feel almost unable to breathe. I cannot imagine anyone being able to tolerate those conditions for hours in the summer.

suze

Sometimes intellectual56 just likes to ask hypothetical questions. Perhaps this is one of those times?