Bomb jokes, faulty engine, friends' death - Why Bergkamp was the Non-Flying Dutchman (2024)

Dennis Bergkamp was a player surrounded by mystery, from his bewildering skill to his incomprehensible vision.

But equally mysterious was the Arsenal and Holland legend's fear of flying.

Upon his imminent return to the Gunners as a coach, Bergkamp might stay at home during Arsenal's long Europa League trips, just like he did as a player.

The Non-Flying Dutchman's aviophobia is almost as famous as his mercurial talent, so deeply is it intertwined with his legendary career.

For every moment of magic at Highbury, there was a Champions League defeat away from home in Bergkamp's absence, although he did make his best efforts to travel by land when possible.

The 51-year-old doesn't talk much about anything, not least his fear of flying, but the story behind it is one of hellish experience and mental trauma.

A combination of nature and nurture, Bergkamp is scarred by both a psychological condition and his own encounters with aviation.

Let us explain...

Why is Bergkamp afraid of flying?

Most people believe Bergkamp's decision to stop flying stemmed from two incidents at the 1994 World Cup, which we will come onto.

However, there was an incident in 1989, when Bergkamp was just 20, which resulted in the loss of several close friends.

The Surinam Airways crash in Paramaribo claimed the life of Ajax teammate Lloyd Doesburg, as well as Virgall Joemankhan, who played for the club's academy alongside Bergkamp.

Many of the 176 victims were footballers in the Dutch league, who were travelling from Amsterdam to Suriname to compete in a charity event.

Rumours have suggested Bergkamp, as well as Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard, wanted to play but were denied permission by their clubs.

Two other teammates of Bergkamp's at the time, Henny MeijerandStanley Menzo, escaped death by taking an earlier flight after ignoring Ajax's decision.

For five years after that, Bergkamp got on planes, but has since revealed he always hated it - and not in an ordinary way.

This wasn't about holding the hand of the stranger next to him because of some pre-flight nerves, Bergkamp would physically shake and break out in a cold sweat.

The last straw was the 1994 World Cup in the USA, which required more air travel than your average event.

There was mass panic on the Dutch team's flight to the tournament when the engine briefly cut out, although this was eventually fixed.

Then, one of their flights during the World Cup was delayed after a Dutch journalist joked about having a bomb in his bag.

He was jailed, such was the seriousness of the situation.

Bergkamp has spoken about how the thought of flying would distract him during games, but he performed well at the 1994 World Cup and finished as his country's top scorer.

However, matters were made worse when Inter Milan requested that Bergkamp return within ten days of Holland's quarter-final exit.

Troubled by injuries and fatigue, he experienced a nightmare 1994/95 campaign at Inter, scoring just five times in 26 matches, and the club decided to sell him to Arsenal.

Upon joining the Gunners, he made it clear he would never fly again, a decision which cost him £100,000 in pay.

What has he said about it?

Bergkamp first publicly admitted his fear of flying during his debut campaign at Arsenal, revealing that he may seek psychiatric help.

He said: "I've got this problem and I have to live with it. I can't do anything about it, it is a psychological thing and I can't explain it. I have not flown on a plane for two years.

"The Dutch FA has been sympathetic, so have have Arsenal, so far.

"I am considering psychiatric help. I can't fly. I just freeze. I get panicky. It starts the day before, when I can't sleep.''

In 2013, the Dutchman delved further into his condition in his autobiography, revealing that his experience of small planes at Inter was the main reason behind his phobia.

He wrote: "They were those nasty little planes that stay in the clouds and shake all the time.

"When you looked out all you could see was white or grey. And there was hardly any space. It was so cramped it made me claustrophobic.

"You had absolutely no room to move and you just sat there shaking the entire trip. It made me feel so awful and I began to develop such an aversion to it that it suddenly dawned on me: 'I don't want to do this any more'.

"It got so bad I would look up at the sky during away games to see what the weather was like. Were there any clouds coming? Sometimes I was preoccupied by the flight home while I was playing football. It was hell.

"The last straw was when we had an away game against Fiorentina. I saw that boneshaker with its propellers standing on the runway and I broke out in a cold sweat. And sure enough it was another disastrous flight.

"I know what flying is! I've flown countless times in large planes, small ones, tiny ones.

"At Ajax, I once flew in a minuscule plane over Mount Etna near Naples when we got into a terrible air pocket – in terms of flying, I've seen and done it all and I'm simply not flying again. Ever.

"In talks with Arsenal, if I said 'a million' they automatically deducted a hundred grand 'because you don't fly'. And I accepted that."