[PuffinBlue]

And yet, millions of people are able to handle tunnels everyday without incident.

Metro lines don't tend to have much visible outside them (if anything at all save for some flashing lights), and there are extended scenarios like the Channel Tunnel where passengers basically don't see anything for over 30 minutes.

[pweissbrod]

if the tunnel was a tin can 3,000+ meters in the sky thats a different story

[PuffinBlue]

Only in the mind, and I think the large majority of people wouldn't care much for the difference.

Just make sure they can plug into Facebook/Instagram/YouTube/Social Media of choice and quite literally most people wouldn't care in the slightest.

That's not to say the negative reaction of a small minority wouldn't be vastly increased, but I think the masses would still be perfectly fine.

[taneq]

> Only in the mind

You say that like there's anywhere else that it matters

[Cerium]

Claustrophobia of the feet; that's why I wear sandals.

[lou1306]

> That's not to say the negative reaction of a small minority wouldn't be vastly increased

The main problem I see with this is that both the small minority and the large majority are locked together inside a tin can speeding through the stratosphere. I'd rather not find out how fast panic might propagate under such conditions.

[francisofascii]

The dimly lit walkway adjacent the track gives assurance an escape is available.

[nkoren]

On a lot of metros (eg. the deep tunnels in London) this isn't a thing. Doesn't seem to matter.

[jessaustin]

I know a couple of claustrophobic people. It "doesn't matter" because they wouldn't be caught dead in such a location. If it's OK not to have these people on planes (and maybe when everything is accounted it is OK), you're right.

[mynameisvlad]

If they're claustrophobic enough to the point where they can't even be in that position, then how can they handle a plane as it stands, even with windows? It's not like you can break the window in case of emergencies, and if anything, it's reinforcing the fact that you're 30k feet in the air in a tiny sealed box.

[jessaustin]

I'm not claustrophobic, so I can't explain exactly, but I think the evidence of altitude actually counteracts this effect, rather than compounding it as you suggest. In general, we wouldn't expect psychological maladies to present in reasonable ways.

[PuffinBlue]

Put a window under your plane seat perhaps? /s

[fancyfish]

As a guy who gets anxiety on planes, it's because of the claustrophobia. In a tunnel, I am moving freely. In a plane, I'm stuck inside the plane for the duration of the flight, and I can barely move given the only moving you can do is to the lavatory and back.

[rajathagasthya]

30 minutes is doable. Emirates has 16+ hour long haul flights.

[mhb]

People also do OK in movie theaters, etc.

[reaperducer]

Movie theaters are huge space. Jets are a small space. And I don't have to be in a movie theater for 13 hours straight.

[makapuf]

Ok for security reasons or the odd claustrophobic person keep two windows just in case and keep 99% of benefits .