JW Surety Bonds interviewed 1,000 Americans about air travel, including 230 Generation Z members, of which 49% are now terrified to board an airplane, writes the New York Post.

"Fears of flying seem to be particularly pronounced among Generation Z", said Merritt Ryan from JW Surety Bonds to The Post, noting that these young people feel more fear of flying than members of any other generation.

Lesley Koeppel, a therapist in New York, says that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated anxiety among Generation Z individuals, as they have lost the ability to trust both their loved ones and state institutions at a crucial moment in their development.

"People trust their parents as they grow up, but they [Generation Z] have reached an age when the Covid pandemic occurred, and there have been all kinds of inconsistencies that have made these kids wonder: Are these state institutions trustworthy?", Koeppel said.

She said that parents - many of whom were themselves worried during the pandemic - conveyed their own anxieties. At the same time, external sources sent daily contradictory messages as information evolved.

"There was so much misinformation and inconsistency. I truly believe that this put that generation on shaky ground when they should have been able to detach from their parents and learn to trust these sources that couldn't be trusted. When you don't trust, you develop anxiety and can retreat", she added.

As a result, Koeppel says, many of them struggle with serious trust issues and are unwilling to believe what Boeing and even the Federal Aviation Administration tell them.

Moreover, the closure orders provided many members of Generation Z with an excuse to retreat into the comfort and safety of their homes, while countless dangers lurked outside - and now they are afraid to face their fears.

"If you have anxiety, one way to treat it is exposure therapy, so it doesn't have a chance to take hold of you", Koeppel explained. "When the world was shut down and people weren't traveling, it was at least a year when people weren't exposed to what might scare them".

However, not only Generation Z is worried about flying, amid the ongoing FAA investigation into Boeing.

The JW Surety Bonds survey also found that 40% of Baby Boomers and 39% of Millennials were also worried about flying. Generation X was the least bothered by Boeing's issues, with 38% of them saying they are now afraid to fly.

The Boeing 737 MAX 9 is currently subject to a federal investigation after a cockpit panel exploded in mid-air during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, forcing an emergency landing.

Additionally, in February, a Boeing plane suddenly lost altitude before stabilizing, but it caused injuries to some of those on board, with some passengers reporting that they actually saw people projected into the ceiling.