Fear of flying leaves Joe, 11, stuck in desert:
Now Joe Thompson is facing a month-long journey by coach, train and boat back to Britain as he battles aerophobia.
Four attempts have been made to get him on a plane out of the desert kingdom, but each time he has suffered a crippling panic attack.
A hypnotherapist was flown out from the UK and Joe has even been SEDATED before flights — all to no avail. <snip>
The sudden attack of aerophobia is mystifying the family as Joe had previously travelled all over the world by plane.
More coverage:
Grounded! British schoolboy terrified of flying is stranded in Abu Dhabi for months... and now his father is bringing him back by road
His condition is now so bad that his father, Tony Thompson, a former aide to John Prescott, is going to have to bring his son home via road, sea and rail while avoiding troublespots such as Syria and Libya.
Last night, Mr Thompson, 63, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘There was no event that prompted it. It just happened out of the blue. And the fear is quite acute. He’s fine until he gets to check-in and then he falls apart.
I feel for the father.
It appears the panic attack is new to the boy since he was at least able to fly from UK to Abu Dhabi back in 2009. Something must have happened or triggered it between now and then. It wasn't clear when was the last successful flight the boy took. (
ETA: according to the 2nd story, Joe was able to fly one-way back to UK this March.)
I wonder what advices and suggestions our savvy FTers can come up with to bring this boy back in the air. Otherwise, Joe would be "grounded" for life, something unimaginable to passionate FTers.
