At just 26 years old, Kate McWilliams is officially the youngest air pilot captain, working for budget airline Easyjet, and gaining this distinction just this year. She tells The Independent that she gets asked about her age several times a day, but confidently states that her age does not affect her performance.
Despite there being only 5% of women working has pilots, McWilliams started flying at 13 in the air cadets and began a training programme at CTC Aviation when she was 19. She also climbed the career track and became a first officer in the year 2011. Currently, she flies Airbus A319 and A320 planes to 100 destinations throughout Europe.
Many young people are stepping up to the plate, such as Luke Elsworth, 19, who this year became the UK's youngest pilot. Elsworth recently joined McWilliams as Co-captain on one of her commercial flights.
Julie Westhorp of the British Women Pilots' Association hopes McWiliams' story inspires women to consider an aviation career. She tells Stuff that she hopes McWiliams' story inspires women to consider an aviation career. "It clearly demonstrates to other young women that it is possible to succeed as a pilot in commercial aviation," she said.
The airline industry is defiitely diversifying and growing, as just this year, Royal Brunei Airlines introduced its first all-female pilot crew. Captain Sharifah Czarena and senior first officers Sariana Nordin and Dk Nadiah Pg Khashiem are the dream team and flew a Boeing 787 Dreamliner at their inaugural flight last February 23, Brunei's National Day. The flight ran from Brunei to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Saudi has strict bans on women driving cars, but a long-haul flight achieved by three empowered women could encourage feminists in the country to take a stand for their basic rights.
The tenacity of these young professionals in their career is something anybody and everybody can look up to. They have all proven that talent and professionalism is not based on nationality, gender, or age, but one's raw skill and determination.
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