Among the many ways to get from point A to B, commercial flight is one of the most popular. Is it necessary to always be prodded by news sources that tell people planes are unsafe? Is impending doom awaiting every passenger who boards a plane? I don’t think so.

The odds of being attacked while on a plane are almost the same as crashing into a pit of lava before landing: very small. The probability for fatalities or crashes when traveling with the 25 best airlines is one in 9.2 million. Basically, folks are always getting riled up for no logical reason when it comes to air safety.

The flight industry is a booming staple in today’s society. As with anything relatively popular, there is going to be a problem. Ask an average person what is frightening about flying, and the answer may be the mere reality of being up thousands of feet in the atmosphere.

But that does not seem to be the main deterrent from hopping on a plane. After the 2001 terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers, there was a major decrease in people’s confidence in the safety of flying. That was a frightening event, and the resulting fear was completely rational.

Sadly, the uproar did not end there. Not long after the incident, flying guidelines and regulations became severely stringent. This practice continued. Today, strict flying ordinances affect flyers’ ability to pack what they need and have a hassle-free check-in at airports.

The reason you cannot take your shampoo and conditioner bottles on board unless they are pocket-sized is part of this giant phenomenon of safety obsession. Airlines have become monsters of confiscation, intimidation and anxiety because of totally impractical fears.

Recently, European airlines found their panties in a bunch after a volcanic eruption near Iceland. Frankfurt, Europe’s third busiest airport, closed because of the scare. Days later, even after several test planes returned with barely a scratch, officials still pondered whether it was safe to reopen the airport. I’m confident this situation upset and deterred many passengers.

Lech Kaczynski, former president of Poland, died in a plane crash when the pilot couldn’t handle maneuvering the tiny plane through fog and the plane hit a tree. This makes sense: It is not smart to operate aircraft in fog or other serious weather conditions. Most fatalities on planes result from stormy skies, not malicious terrorists wielding nail polish as a weapon or any other fiction of the sort.

I believe there are many things to be worried about and fearful of in society. There are substantial issues that affect people on a daily basis. I do not think stressing about whether someone on a plane will craft a bomb out of toothpaste and a penny is a top concern.

Planes are as safe as they have been in years, and everyone can relax, instead of letting news and word-of-mouth stir them into a tizzy. It is useless to worry so much about a commercial flight; luckily, there are many safety guidelines being followed to ensure that a plane crashing into the ocean will be unlikely.

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