How Air Travel Affects Your Voice - and 6 Ways to Sound Confident After a Flight
- Susan Room
- Sep 25
- 3 min read
When you travel for work, your voice travels with you. Last week, I flew overnight from London to Dubai to work with renewable energy infrastructure fund Alcazar Energy. It was 12°C when I left London, and 33°C when I landed in Dubai. A dramatic swing in both temperature and environment. Add in an overnight flight, time-zone shift, and the dehydrating effects of air travel, and it’s no wonder many frequent flyers step off the plane sounding hoarse, croaky, or strained.
If your job depends on your voice - to lead, influence, persuade, and inspire, you can’t afford to let long-haul travel compromise how you sound. Here’s how air travel affects your voice, and what you can do to arrive ready to speak with confidence and credibility.
Why Flying is Tough on Your Voice
1. Dehydration at altitude
Aircraft cabin air is extremely dry - often as dry as, or drier than, the Sahara desert. Your vocal folds need a thin layer of moisture to vibrate freely. Dry air strips that away, leaving your voice tight, rough, or croaky.
2. Time-zone disruption
Flying overnight shifts your body clock. Fatigue dulls vocal energy and resonance. It can also make you less aware of pitch and volume, leading to a flatter, less engaging delivery.
3. Temperature extremes
Going from cool London air to Dubai heat meant my body and my voice had to work harder to adjust. Rapid environmental changes can irritate your airways and make the voice feel ‘sticky’ and inflexible.
How to Mitigate the Effects of Air Travel and Sound Your Best
1. Hydrate before, during, and after the flight
Don’t wait until you’re parched. Drink water regularly, and limit excessive caffeine and alcohol, as both can have a mild drying effect and disrupt sleep. Herbal teas on the plane can be a soothing choice.
2. Use a saline nasal spray or lozenges
These help lubricate your airways and encourage gentle saliva production, which supports healthy vocal fold vibration.
3. Rest your voice in transit
Your vocal folds need downtime. Prolonged or forced whispering can be fatiguing - brief, relaxed whispering isn’t clearly harmful, so true rest (silence) is best. Avoid raising your voice in noisy cabins.
4. Reset your rhythm on arrival
Exposure to natural light, gentle stretching, and regular meals help your body adapt to the new time zone more quickly. A well-rested body supports a well-rested voice.
5. Warm up before important meetings
Simple humming, gentle pitch glides, and lip trills re-energise your voice, restore resonance, and bring back vocal confidence. Just five minutes can make all the difference.
6. Adapt to the climate
Both air conditioning and desert heat can be drying. Manage your exposure thoughtfully, step outside for short breaks, breathe through your nose to humidify the air, and continue to hydrate well.
The Business Case for Protecting Your Voice
Your voice is your instrument of influence. Whether you’re presenting to a board, negotiating a deal, or inspiring a team, people don’t just listen to what you say - they judge how you say it. A croaky, strained voice undermines your authority. A confident, well-cared-for voice strengthens it.
As my overnight journey from London to Dubai reminded me, protecting your voice isn’t a luxury for frequent flyers, it’s a necessity. By taking a few practical steps, you can ensure that no matter where in the world your business takes you, your voice arrives ready to perform.
Voice is one of the four pillars of my Make Your Mark with Susan Room® framework, which helps people develop mental, physical, verbal and vocal presence to convey confidence, authority, and authenticity at work.
If you’re an HR or L&D professional looking to develop your leaders’ and teams’ ability to make their mark, wherever business takes them, contact me to explore how we can work together.
The Business Voice Coach
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