Sometimes frightened fliers need a serious pep talk before boarding their flights, says an Argentina-based company that operates the world's first permanent, in-airport fear of flight centre.

Located in the Jorge Newbury airport in Buenos Aires, Poder Volar, or Able to Fly, offers support and counselling to travellers who just can't bring themselves to cross through the boarding gate and get onto a plane. The centre claims to improve the quality of flying for 95 per cent of its clients.

With ramped up security restrictions and the threat of terrorism, flight counselling is proving to be a burgeoning industry. Nervous fliers can find comfort from flight kits, self-help books, hypnosis tapes and classes.

"It's like a dentist's office next to a restaurant, since people's teeth start hurting when they eat," Dr. Claudio Pla, the Argentine psychiatrist who started the company in 2000, told the Associated Press. "If you just got off or are about to get on a plane scared, but you see someone else resolving the issue, it inspires them to look for a solution."

Consultants at Poder Volar offer tips on flight safety and relaxation techniques. But comfort has its costs - a three-hour individual class is $170 US, while an eight-hour group class sells for $220 US.

Nervous fliers can also find reassurance in statistics alone. According to a recent study by the U.S. National Safety Council, flying on commercial jets is 22 times safer than driving.

Meanwhile, Canadians as a group have not proven to be fearful fliers, according to a 2006 Transport Canada survey. The study found that 64 per cent of Canadians have high levels of confidence in the safety and security of air travel. An earlier survey conducted in 2002 found confidence levels hovering around 52 per cent.

With files from the Associated Press