Tailoring In-Flight Food Consumption to Alleviate Fear of Flying Through Sensory Stimulation

Nowadays, society is becoming increasingly committed to traveling by plane for work, tourism, and leisure in general. However, either due to internal, specific factors or to external determinants, like terrorism and climate changes, a growing number of travelers have experienced the so-called fear o...

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Main Authors: Francesco Sansone, Francesca Gorini, Alessandro Tonacci, Francesca Venturi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-07-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/14/8057
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author Francesco Sansone
Francesca Gorini
Alessandro Tonacci
Francesca Venturi
author_facet Francesco Sansone
Francesca Gorini
Alessandro Tonacci
Francesca Venturi
author_sort Francesco Sansone
collection DOAJ
description Nowadays, society is becoming increasingly committed to traveling by plane for work, tourism, and leisure in general. However, either due to internal, specific factors or to external determinants, like terrorism and climate changes, a growing number of travelers have experienced the so-called fear of flying, a persistent, irrational fear of flight-related situations for which a clear, efficacious therapy does not yet exist. Based on the usual interaction with the surrounding environment, conducted by means of the five human senses, and particularly on the neurophysiological pathway followed by the chemical senses, in this study, we revise the findings in the related literature on the topic, proposing an alternative way to alleviate the anxiety related to the fear of flight. This is based on chemosensory stimulation being applied directly during a flight and is possibly concerned with the consumption of meals, an usual activity performed onboard. After an introductory section aimed at understanding the problem, we present some studies related to chemosensory perception during the flight, highlighting the specificities of the scenarios, followed by a description of findings related to the meals proposed by flight companies in this context, and finally wrapping up the possible alternative approaches that could be conducted by such providers to alleviate the fear of flying condition through chemosensory stimulation vehiculated by meals, and enhance the quality of flight experience related to food consumption onboard.
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spelling doaj-art-58b701b28e264fddbc2bc5492bb6b3ee2025-08-20T02:45:33ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-07-011514805710.3390/app15148057Tailoring In-Flight Food Consumption to Alleviate Fear of Flying Through Sensory StimulationFrancesco Sansone0Francesca Gorini1Alessandro Tonacci2Francesca Venturi3Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council of Italy (IFC-CNR), I-56124 Pisa, ItalyInstitute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council of Italy (IFC-CNR), I-56124 Pisa, ItalyInstitute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council of Italy (IFC-CNR), I-56124 Pisa, ItalyInterdepartmental Research Centre “Nutraceuticals and Food for Health”, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, I-56124 Pisa, ItalyNowadays, society is becoming increasingly committed to traveling by plane for work, tourism, and leisure in general. However, either due to internal, specific factors or to external determinants, like terrorism and climate changes, a growing number of travelers have experienced the so-called fear of flying, a persistent, irrational fear of flight-related situations for which a clear, efficacious therapy does not yet exist. Based on the usual interaction with the surrounding environment, conducted by means of the five human senses, and particularly on the neurophysiological pathway followed by the chemical senses, in this study, we revise the findings in the related literature on the topic, proposing an alternative way to alleviate the anxiety related to the fear of flight. This is based on chemosensory stimulation being applied directly during a flight and is possibly concerned with the consumption of meals, an usual activity performed onboard. After an introductory section aimed at understanding the problem, we present some studies related to chemosensory perception during the flight, highlighting the specificities of the scenarios, followed by a description of findings related to the meals proposed by flight companies in this context, and finally wrapping up the possible alternative approaches that could be conducted by such providers to alleviate the fear of flying condition through chemosensory stimulation vehiculated by meals, and enhance the quality of flight experience related to food consumption onboard.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/14/8057biomedical signalfear of flightfoodsensory stimulationwearable technologywell-being
spellingShingle Francesco Sansone
Francesca Gorini
Alessandro Tonacci
Francesca Venturi
Tailoring In-Flight Food Consumption to Alleviate Fear of Flying Through Sensory Stimulation
Applied Sciences
biomedical signal
fear of flight
food
sensory stimulation
wearable technology
well-being
title Tailoring In-Flight Food Consumption to Alleviate Fear of Flying Through Sensory Stimulation
title_full Tailoring In-Flight Food Consumption to Alleviate Fear of Flying Through Sensory Stimulation
title_fullStr Tailoring In-Flight Food Consumption to Alleviate Fear of Flying Through Sensory Stimulation
title_full_unstemmed Tailoring In-Flight Food Consumption to Alleviate Fear of Flying Through Sensory Stimulation
title_short Tailoring In-Flight Food Consumption to Alleviate Fear of Flying Through Sensory Stimulation
title_sort tailoring in flight food consumption to alleviate fear of flying through sensory stimulation
topic biomedical signal
fear of flight
food
sensory stimulation
wearable technology
well-being
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/14/8057
work_keys_str_mv AT francescosansone tailoringinflightfoodconsumptiontoalleviatefearofflyingthroughsensorystimulation
AT francescagorini tailoringinflightfoodconsumptiontoalleviatefearofflyingthroughsensorystimulation
AT alessandrotonacci tailoringinflightfoodconsumptiontoalleviatefearofflyingthroughsensorystimulation
AT francescaventuri tailoringinflightfoodconsumptiontoalleviatefearofflyingthroughsensorystimulation