A campaign has been launched to persuade more women to train as airline pilots

A new campaign has been launched to try to persuade more women to apply to become airline pilots at Heathrow and Gatwick. Training takes place at CTC Aviation in Southampton.

New figures reveal that only five per cent of flight crew are female.It comes as British Airways next week launch the latest Future Flying Programme for one hundred new pilots.

In a recent survey British Airways found that sixty-three per cent of women said they were put off a career as a professional airline pilot when they were growing up for reasons including a lack of visible role models and being told it was a man’s job.

The British Airways Future Pilot Programme is an 18-month pilot training course open to anyone aged 18 to 55, with no prior flying experience required.

The airline expects to have approaching 4,000 pilots this year, more than it has ever had before and is looking for around 100 new cadets.