Getting back on the horse — or jet, in this case. Travis Barker has been vocal about his fear of flying since he survived a 2008 airplane crash, but he returned to the skies with girlfriend Kourtney Kardashian by his side on Saturday, August 14.
The Blink-182 rocker, 45, was spotted getting on a flight with the Poosh founder, 42. The couple were joined by Kourtney’s mother, Kris Jenner, and Kris’ boyfriend, Corey Gamble. The four boarded Kylie Jenner‘s private jet — which features her name in bold pink letters — from Los Angeles to Cabo, according to photos obtained by TMZ.
Barker was an hour late for the flight to Mexico, the outlet reports. It isn’t clear what delayed him, but the drummer has made his fear of flying well known.
His last flight resulted in a plane crash in September 2008. After a South Carolina show, Barker was on a private plane when the tires blew out during takeoff, overran the runway and hit an embankment, causing a fire. The accident killed Barker’s security guard Charles “Che” Still and assistant Chris Baker as well as pilot Sarah Lemmon and co-pilot James Bland. Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein survived the crash but died after a drug overdose nearly a year later, leaving Barker as the only living survivor.
Though he escaped alive, Barker wasn’t unscathed. He was covered in jet fuel and was on fire. Goldstein helped put out the flames, but Barker was left with third-degree burns on 65 percent of his body. After three months in the hospital with 26 surgeries and many skin grafts, Barker’s lifelong fear of flying was at an all-time high.
However, the Barker Wellness Co. founder has been open about wanting to fly again. “I have to,” he told Men’s Health in May. “I want to make the choice to try and overcome it.”
The father of two — he shares son Landon, 17, and daughter Alabama, 15, with ex-wife Shanna Moakler — struggled with PTSD after the deadly accident. He only traveled by car, train and boat. He even took transatlantic cruises to Europe several times.
However, he revealed to the magazine that he fantasized about the day he’d safely fly again.
“If I do it, and the angels above help me in my travels and keep me safe, I would like to come back and [tell my kids], ‘Hey, I just flew here, and then I flew home. And everything was fine.’ I have to tell them, because I almost left them,” Barker explained. “That’s a perfect day.”
He hinted earlier this summer that travel plans were coming together. “I might fly again ✈️,” he tweeted on June 25.
The musician and Kourtney have traveled plenty with trips to see UFC fights in Las Vegas, skiing in Park City, Utah, swimming in Montecito, California, and the desert in Canyon Point, Utah. The reality TV personality doesn’t mind taking a long car ride with her beau.
Since they started dating in late 2020, the two have only gotten closer. “They’re very much in love and are deeply connected as a couple,” a source told Us Weekly exclusively in July. “Their bond is unbreakable at this point.”
In April, another insider revealed, “Friends think they absolutely will be getting engaged sooner rather than later.”
