The world's youngest female captain

Kate McWilliams became a captain for a British airline at the age of 26.

McWilliams became co-pilot in 2011 and captain in 2016. Photo: PA

McWilliams started learning to fly at the age of 13, attended pilot training in Southampton at the age of 19, and became a first officer for EasyJet in May 2011, according to the Guardian.

She was recently promoted to captain after completing the airline's command training course. An EasyJet spokesman said McWilliams is the world's youngest female commercial airline captain.

"Personally, I don't think age matters. I've gone through the same training and passed all the command training as any other captain. So I've proven my ability regardless of age. In fact, since I became captain, almost every day someone asks me how old I am," McWilliams said.

She lives in Reigate, Surrey, near London, and works at Gatwick Airport, flying Airbus A319s and A320s to more than 100 destinations. The 26-year-old never thought she would become a passenger pilot, but now she is proud of her job.

"I love flying passenger planes for EasyJet, and am proud to have achieved my goal of becoming a captain," McWilliams said.

The proportion of women commercial pilots in the world is just 5%. Last year, EasyJet announced it was aiming to increase the proportion of female pilots to 12% in two years.

Julie Westhorp, president of the British Women Pilots Association (BWPA), hopes McWilliams will inspire more women to consider becoming pilots.

"Kate's success has proven to other young women that becoming a commercial airline pilot is possible. We hope Kate continues to be successful in her career, and are delighted to see her become a great role model for women."

Last week, McWilliams flew from London Gatwick to the Republic of Malta, a southern European island nation in the Mediterranean, with 19-year-old Luke Elsworth, who earlier this year became Britain's youngest pilot.

According to VNE