A north-east woman is flying the flag for equality after securing her dream job as an airline pilot.
Only 3% of all commercial pilots globally are female, but Sarah Johnson is hopeful of inspiring a change in the industry as she prepares to enter the male-dominated world.
Despite being fascinated with aviation since childhood, the 32-year-old was constantly told that her aspirations to take command of the cockpit were little more than a flight of fancy.
She instead studied translation at university, and resigned herself to working on a cabin crew.
Miss Johnson spent seven years waiting in the wings with Emirates while living in Dubai, before finally deciding to plough her savings into training.
She completed the course in October, and has this week been given a job with Ryanair as a 737 pilot.
Miss Johnson said: “I have always been interested in flying and aircraft, but never thought becoming a pilot was achievable.
“Working as cabin crew, many people told me that the job was one for men and said you can’t be a mum with all the travel required.
“But I spoke to the occasional female pilot who convinced me that times are changing now and encouraged me to do it.
“There was a lot of resilience up against me, but that made me fight for it more to prove people wrong.”
While working with Emirates, she lived in Dubai and managed to amass the £70,000 required for training by setting out a strict savings plan.
Having gained her commercial pilot licence, she will start with Ryanair in April – but will undergo a further five months of training before taking to the skies with passengers aboard.
The flying enthusiast is from Birse, near Aboyne, and went to Finzean Primary School and then St Margaret’s School for Girls in Aberdeen.
She believes that travelling abroad as a youngster first sparked her passion for flying.
Miss Johnson added: “I respect the views of those who find the idea of flying daunting, but I think it is amazing.
“I think it’s incredible that man has achieved such a feat.
“I just want any other girls thinking about becoming a pilot to know that it is possible, if you have a dream there is a way to make it happen.”
