Aitana

A fear of flying can affect anyone. Even a pop star like Aitana, who is used to tours that involve many hours onboard a plane, is free to feel this unease. Alongside Iberia, this singer has been overcoming this problem in recent years. First, in October of 2022 —before starting her tour of Latin America—, she attended a session with psychologist David Lanzas where she identified the source of her fear and then rode a flight simulator with Rafael San Julián, an Iberia pilot. Following the pilot’s instructions, the artist even took control of the aircraft, while Rafael calmly explained the safety protocols. They even experienced some turbulence: “On a real flight I’d be in hell, I’d already be crying —Aitana confessed—, but now I’m starting to understand, and I realize that everything is OK. It’s been a unique experience.”

A year later, in June of 2023, “captain Aitana” —as she introduced herself— took control of a simulator again alongside Rafael San Julián, who asked her about her progress: “My fear of flying hasn’t gone 100% away because it’s something I still have to deal with, but I’ve improved a lot —she confirmed—. Your explanations calmed me down.” She even shared her desire to travel to new destinations, like Costa Rica. “I think people weren't aware of how fearful I was, I spent almost three years without leaving Spain —she admitted—. I think that if you have the chance to treat it with a specialist, that’s a good thing. At Iberia, they are very aware of this problem.” At the end of the session, Rafael gave Aitana a jacket and pilot’s hat in recognition of her bravery and her progress in overcoming her fear of flying.

“I knew that a lot of work goes into ensuring that planes are safe, but I never imagined this array of safety measures. Now I feel much safer”

So that a passenger who’s afraid of flying feels calm, it’s essential to convey to them that it is a safe activity and one way of doing this is by showing them the inner workings of an airplane: explaining how it works, the safety processes, showing them the pieces... And to get to know all of that, there’s no better place than La Muñoza, Iberia’s maintenance centre. This time, Aitana went to these facilities to meet Ana Bragado (Engines Shop Planning), who showed her the testing ground, where airplane engines are subjected to much more extreme conditions than those that occur during a conventional flight to verify that they are ready to fly. There, Ana also told her the number of pieces that an engine contains —almost 2,500— and the types of repairs that are performed. Lastly, alongside Alberto García (SM Aircraft pilot engineering), Aitana visited Hangar 6, an amazing space where more than 3,000 workers check the planes in depth. “I knew that a lot of work goes into ensuring that planes are safe, but I never imagined this array of safety measures —she declared—. So, thanks to Iberia for this visit to La Muñoza, now I feel much safer and, keeping this in mind, it’s likely that my fear of flying will loosen its grip.”