I hear you.

I am not a nervous flyer but on the flight yesterday I ended up sitting next to a man who clearly was. As we took off, he was sitting in his seat, rigid, with his eyes shut, and his husband, who was sitting next to him, reached out and took his hand and held it until we were at cruising altitude.

It was very sweet.

Once or twice in my flying experience I've actually had a total stranger sitting next to me ask if they could hold my hand when the plane took off.

I'm not really into hand holding but I've always said yes.