News

Is music the food for flying?

Published 22 January 2013

A Brighton psychobiologist is backing plans to have orchestras playing in airport terminals to improve passengers' pre-flight experience.

Dr Harry Witchel, from the Brighton and Sussex Medical School and author of music psychology book You Are What You Hear, said listening to music has positive emotional and physical effects on the body.

"It can profoundly affect people's emotions and their bodies."

Heathrow has announced it is partnering with the London Philharmonic Orchestra to give its 70 million passengers a musical send off during 2013. Research has shown that 25 per cent of passengers feel nervous before a flight. Despite 48 per cent of people surveyed listening to music to help them relax, only eight per cent remember to bring music with them to calm their nerves before travelling (Opinion Matters survey of 1,484 recipients in January 2012). Given that music is an opportunity to promote relaxation, the airport considered this a missed opportunity.

The London Philharmonic performed at the airport during the 2012 London Olympics and now a number of ensembles from the orchestra including a 20-player ensemble and a string quintet will perform for key celebration dates throughout 2013, including during the Chelsea Flower Show.

Dr Witchel, who is regularly called in as an expert on TV and radio, said the body is influenced by different kinds of music and has demonstrated this with a series of experiments.

"In my research, I have shown how some music makes us joyous, while other music makes us sad, angry, or anxious, and how this affects the body at a visceral level. As music in everyday life is associated with increased levels of happiness, it makes sense to apply this to departures at Heathrow, given the wonderful opportunity of having the orchestra there for travellers."

The London Philharmonic Orchestra playing in Terminal 5 at Heathrow airport