Tefilas Haderech - Airplanes

QUESTION: Should Tefilas Haderech be recited if one is traveling by airplane?

ANSWER: Rav Zevin, zt”l (Ishim V’shitos pg. 80) quotes the Rogotchover Gaon who ruled that one does not recite Tefilas Haderech when traveling by airplane. This is based on the Gemara Chulin (139b) that states that the mitzvah of shiluach hakan (sending away the mother bird from the nest) would not apply to a bird nest found in the sky because the Torah refers to a nest which is “baderech,” on a path, and the sky is not a “derech.” By the same token, tefilas haderech is recited when traveling on a derech, which excludes air travel which is not considered a derech. Most poskim however did not accept this proof. They argue that an airplane presents an even greater potential for danger, and therefore surely it requires Tefilas Haderech. The Shoel Umaishiv (1:3:103), The Steipler Gaon (Orchos Rabbeinu), Shevet HaLevi (10:21), Igros Moshe OC 4:59, Rav Ovadya Yosef, zt”l (Yechave Daas 2:26) and most other poskim agreed that Tefilas Haderech should be said even when traveling by air. Apparently, they assumed that the beracha is recited when travelling is precarious, even if the trip does not meet the biblical requirements for the term “derech.” However, some have suggested that it is best to recite Tefilas Haderech when taxiing down the runway, to accommodate the position of the Rogotchover, and because this is perhaps the point of greatest danger.

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