Travis Barker Admits Flying Is Still ‘Terrible’ For Him After Plane Crash, And He’s Not The Only One In The Family Who Struggles

Travis Barker on The Kardashians.
(Image credit: Hulu)

Travis Barker has given his wife Kourtney Kardashian all of the credit for getting him back on a plane following the fatal 2008 crash that he survived. When his friendship with The Kardashians star turned into something more in 2021, Barker made her a deal that he would travel the world with her. Not surprisingly, though, his fears didn’t just go away overnight, and he revealed on the Hulu special ‘Til Death Do Us Part: Kourtney and Travis that parts of flights are still “terrible” for him. He’s apparently not the only one in his family who still struggles, either.

‘Til Death Do Us Part, which is available to stream with a Hulu subscription, takes fans of The Kardashians behind the scenes of Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker’s three wedding ceremonies. The first was an Elvis-officiated Las Vegas wedding with just the two of them; the second happened at the Santa Barbara Courthouse with just Barker’s father and Kardashian’s grandmother. For the third ceremony, they flew their family and friends — including Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox — to Portofino, Italy, for a big celebration, and the Blink 182 drummer admitted on the special that he has not fully overcome his fear, explaining: 

As everyone knows, I’m kind of shook just flying anywhere. My plane crashed on takeoff, so takeoffs are terrible for me. I’m still equally afraid of flying as I always was, but it’s not something that can, like, hold me back or I can be afraid of anymore. But yeah, I’m getting better.

Viewers of The Kardashians got a peek into Travis Barker’s current state of mind during Season 2, as the reality show captured Kourtney Kardashian praying with her husband-to-be and assuring him that they were OK as the plane took off. 

On the new wedding special, it was revealed that Travis’ son, Landon Barker, is also understandably trepidatious about flying, and he and Kourtney Kardashian weren’t even sure that the teenager would make it to Italy for the wedding. Travis said: 

We didn’t know if Landon was gonna make it, because he’s so afraid of flying. I think he walked off two commercial flights… When we saw him, I was so happy.

It was Kim Kardashian, Kourtney revealed, who came through with the save, bringing Landon Barker along with her on her private plane after he tried and was unable to board two different commercial flights.

Before 2021, Travis Barker hadn’t flown since the crash, which killed both pilots and two members of his entourage. The other survivor, Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein, died a year later of an overdose. The tragedy left Barker with third-degree burns all over his body, requiring multiple surgeries and blood transfusions.  

Nobody could blame the drummer for not wanting to fly following that traumatic time in his life, but it is nice to see Kourtney Kardashian being able to help him and his children overcome their fears and be together on their big day. Her and Travis Barker’s wedding special is available to stream now on Hulu, and The Kardashians will return with Season 3 on Thursday, May 25. In the meantime, check out what other premieres are coming soon with our 2023 TV schedule

Heidi Venable
Content Producer

Heidi Venable is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend, a mom of two and a hard-core '90s kid. She started freelancing for CinemaBlend in 2020 and officially came on board in 2021. Her job entails writing news stories and TV reactions from some of her favorite prime-time shows like Grey's Anatomy and The Bachelor. She graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a degree in Journalism and worked in the newspaper industry for almost two decades in multiple roles including Sports Editor, Page Designer and Online Editor. Unprovoked, will quote Friends in any situation. Thrives on New Orleans Saints football, The West Wing and taco trucks.