Fear of Flying – updated policy


From October 2024 St. Margaret’s Health Centre does NOT prescribe sedatives for fear of flying.

WE HAVE CHANGED OUR APPROACH ON SEDATIVE PRESCRIBING FOR FEAR OF FLYING

This policy decision has been made by the GP Partners and is adhered to by all prescribers working in the practice. The reasons for this include:

1) Diazepam is a sedative, which means it makes you sleepy and more relaxed. If there is an emergency
during the flight it may impair your ability to concentrate, follow instructions and react to the situation. This
could have serious safety consequences for you and those around you.
2) Sedative drugs can make you fall asleep, however when you do sleep it is an unnatural non-REM sleep.
This means you won’t move around as much as during natural sleep. This can cause you to be at increased
risk of developing a blood clot (DVT) in the leg or even the lung. Blood clots are very dangerous and can
even prove fatal. This risk is even greater if your flight is greater than four hours.
3) Whilst most people find benzodiazepines like diazepam sedating, a small number of people experience
agitation and even aggression. They can also cause disinhibition and lead you to behave in a way that you
would not normally. This could impact on your safety as well as that of other passengers and could also get
you into trouble with the law.
4) According to the prescribing guidelines doctors are required to follow (BNF), Benzodiazepines are
contraindicated (not allowed) for phobia (fear). Your doctor is taking a significant legal risk by prescribing
against these guidelines.
5) Diazepam and similar drugs are illegal in a number of countries. They may be confiscated, or you may
find yourself in trouble with the police.
6) Diazepam stays in your system for quite a while. If your job requires you to submit to random drug
testing you may fail this having taken diazepam.


We appreciate that fear of flying is very real and very frightening. A much better approach is to tackle this
properly with a Fear of Flying course run by the airlines and we have listed a number of these below.
Easy Jet www.fearlessflyer.easyjet.com Tel 0203 8131644
British Airways www.flyingwithconfidence.com Tel 01252 793250
Virgin www.flyingwithoutfear.co.uk Tel 01423 714900