Fear of flying is a psychological issue. And due to the recent events with 5 major airline crashes, more and more people are now having doubts about safety when flying. People, like you and me, who used to fly as if it was the most natural thing in the world are now wary to board another flight.

And as I face yet another business trip to the UK, the graphic images on CNN and BBC just seem to aggravate my newfound fear of flying.

If, like me, you HAVE TO fly then you HAVE TO cope. I scoured the net and here are a few tips which might prove helpful:

Read up. There are several books from Amazon that tackles fear of flying.

Try to understand and conquer your fears by getting free (self-)help online.

Airsafe has 10 safety tips for airline passengers. One of which suggests readers to, "Choose Larger Aircraft. Currently, aircraft with more than 30 passenger seats were all designed and certified under the strictest regulations. Also, in the unlikely event of a serious accident, larger aircraft provide a better opportunity for passenger survival." There are, imo, obvious/practical tips but there are quite a few interesting ones, as well.

So, Is flying still the safest way to travel? Apparently, "airline safety worldwide is now six times better than it was 25 years ago, says David Learmount, operations and safety editor for Flight International magazine." It just so happened that 5 major airline accidents have happened one after another, recently. Head on to Margaret Ryan's very interesting article about safety in flying.

Until then... let's pray for the poor souls who perished and hope that there won't be another one. At least, reastically, in the near future.