Did Kourtney Kardashian Play A Role In Blink-182's First Tour In 10 Years?

Blink-182 is getting back on the road with Tom DeLonge for a massive world tour in 2023!

While that is some fantastic news for fans of the band, it does not outweigh the progress that Travis Barker has made as regards his fear of flying. The drummer's decade-long hiatus from entering a plane began after a horrifying plane crash. Luckily, he met and married Kourtney Kardashian, who has made it her life mission to help him conquer his fear.

If you have followed Barker's career from its inception, you would be no stranger to hearing him talk about the "horrible feeling" he gets about airplanes. His dilemma started in 2008 when the private plane that he, alongside his security guard Charles "Che" Still, his assistant Chris Baker, and his best friend, Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein, flew from Columbia, South Carolina to Los Angeles crashed.

While he survived the crash, Still and Baker were not so lucky as they and the plane's pilots, James Bland and Sarah Lemmon, all died. DJ AM initially survived the crash with Barker but died one year later.

Since then, the rocker has been plagued with sadness and remorse, especially following the multiple unpleasant omens he received before he got on the plane. In fact, his then-wife, Shanna Moakler, backed out of joining him on the trip at the last minute, opting to stay at home with their kids in case something happened.

BuzzFeed recalled that the plane had suffered an emergency during takeoff, which the National Transportation Safety Board later attributed to the plane’s tires bursting after its investigation into the accident.

That particular problem caused the pilot to make a life-altering decision to abort the flight at high speed, which is not recommended. Although Barker managed to escape by hurriedly opening the Learjet's door and sliding down its wing, he accidentally jumped into the jet, resulting in devastating injuries and almost losing his right foot.

The Transplants band member eventually spent 11 weeks in the hospital. He also underwent almost 30 surgeries and skin grafts after suffering third-degree burns on more than half of his body. Things got progressively worse for Barker, who offered people millions of dollars to "take him out" after he heard of DJ AM's passing in 2009.

What followed has been years of therapy and support from his kids — Alabama, Ariana, and Landon. However, without the solid weight of his wife beside him, holding his hand, the twice-divorced star might never have stepped on another plane.

Kardashian's influence has been so enormous that Barker boarded a plane for the first time in 13 years last year, and he posted a photo of himself and the POOSH founder having their trademark PDA session in front of the plane.

With that singular step, the record producer is ready to take over the world with his upcoming 2023 tour. According to NME, Barker, alongside his Blink-182 crew — DeLonge and Mark Hoppus — will be flight hopping from March to thrill their fans in the UK, Europe, Australia, North America, New Zealand, and Latin America.

The tour, scheduled to end in February 2024, will have the trio visiting London, Glasgow, Birmingham, and Manchester in September and October 2023 for its UK leg.

Shortly after Barker returned to the airspace, PEOPLE reported that he would not have gone through with it if not for the condition he gave Kardashian. The former Expensive Taste band member revealed:

"I made a deal with her that she had just said to me, 'I would love to do so much traveling with you. I want to go to Italy with you. I want to go to Cabo with you. I want to go to Paris with you. I want to go to Bora Bora with you.' And I said, 'Well when the day comes you want to fly, I'm telling you I'll do it with you. I would do anything with you. And just give me 24 hours' notice.' And that's what she did."

The couple would ultimately travel to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, before making their way to Europe, where they spent time in Paris and Italy.