Dreaming of an airplane
An airplane in a dream is about big steps: a journey, a change or a goal you have set high. A plane crashing is one of the most frightening dream images, but is almost always about fear of failing or losing control, not about a real accident.
Interpret your own dreamWhy you dream about this
Flying in an airplane is different from flying yourself in a dream. You sit in something bigger than you, and someone else steers. That is why airplane dreams are often about big changes in which you do not control everything yourself: a new job, a move, a relationship or a plan that aims high.
Taking off usually feels hopeful: something gets off the ground, you leave something behind. A calm flight with a beautiful view is often read as overview and trust. Turbulence is about unrest along the way, and landing about arriving or completing a phase.
The best-known and most frightening version is a plane crashing. That dream often comes in periods when a lot is at stake, or when you fear a plan will fail. It does not predict an accident. Missing a flight is also common: you are late, your passport is lost, the gate is closed. That is usually about an opportunity you fear missing, or about too much at once.
Old traditions knew no airplanes, but they did know journeys, height and the air. Classical Islamic interpreters read height and travel as a change of status. Chinese folk interpretation reads taking off as promotion. And in wicca the airplane belongs to the element of air: thoughts, communication and overview.
What it means in each tradition
The same dream. 3 traditions. 3 different ways of seeing it.
Islamic
The classical dream books knew no airplanes, but they did know journeys and height. Contemporary interpreters extend those lines: an airplane can stand for a journey, a rapid change of status or a goal you reach. Crashing is read more cautiously, but not as a prediction.
Read the full Islamic interpretation →Zhou Gong
The folk interpretation around the dream book of Zhou Gong has moved with the times. Contemporary Chinese dream guides often read a plane taking off as promotion, success or a journey that brings something, in the line of a well-known saying: yi fan feng shun, a prosperous journey with the wind in your sails.
Read the full Zhou Gong interpretation →Wicca
In wicca everything that flies belongs to the element of air: thoughts, communication, new ideas and overview. An airplane is a modern image of air in that sense: you rise above the ordinary and see the whole. Crashing is read as thoughts running away with you and calling for grounding.
Read the full Wicca interpretation →These differences are not opinions about one another. Each tradition reads a dream from within its own worldview, and that worldview decides what an image carries.
Common dreams about an airplane
A plane crashing
Fear of failing or losing control. Not a prediction of an accident.
Missing a flight
An opportunity you fear missing, or too much at once.
Taking off
Something gets off the ground: a new beginning or plan.
Turbulence
Unrest along the way in a change.
Landing safely
Arriving, completing a phase, relief.
What does your dream mean?
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Write your dream in the appFrequently asked questions
What does dreaming of a plane crash mean?
Usually fear of failing or losing control in a period when a lot is at stake. It does not predict an accident.
What does dreaming that you miss your flight mean?
Often the fear of missing an opportunity, or the feeling that you have too much to arrange at once.
What is the difference between flying and an airplane in a dream?
Flying yourself is often about freedom. In an airplane someone else steers: it is more about changes you do not fully control.