‘I’m a pilot but it bothers me that people always make the same assumption’
There are many titles that command respect, but being a pilot tends to draw interest from everyone. Taking command of a commercial airlines as it zooms through the sky is no small feat.
However, it seems that not all pilots are treated the same. Some female pilots claim that members of the public assume they’re actually admin workers when they say they work for an airline.
It’s true that men make up the majority of pilots in the UK and around the world. But, women have been gaining their wings for some decades now – and young women are becoming more and more keen to jet off (literally).
READ MORE: 'I'm a female pilot and I want to destroy the myth of what it takes to land the job'
The Daily Star spoke to Captain Sanne Gibson, 28, who began flying commercially in 2016 and started working with Wizz Air in 2017. She fell in love with speedy vehicles by racing a a Suzuki Swift around race tracks with her parent and brothers.
Sanne commented: "As it happens, my race instructor was an airline pilot, we hit it off straight away and I couldn’t ask him too many questions. He recognised the passion and talent I had, and recommended me to go on a flying lesson."
When she got older she decided to train as a pilot. Now, as a Captain she loves her career – but not so much the assumptions of other people.
Speaking to the travel team, Sanne said: "Last week, we went for a curry in our local village, and for some reason the waiter asked what I did for a living. I told him I work at Luton airport.
"He kept insisting by saying 'Ah, what is it you do there, admin or something?' I told him I was a pilot for Wizz Air and his jaw dropped."
It’s not the only time someone has assumed a woman isn’t a pilot either. Sanne added: "People very often presume I am a flight attendant. When they then find out I actually operate the aircraft, you can see their eyes light up."
Thankfully, she notes that when people realise her critical and difficult role they are rarely disbelieving. Nor are they rude about it – they just made an assumption!
Sanne commented: "It makes me happy that they nearly always have a positive attitude towards it, but at the same time, it bothers me that people are seeking to confirm a certain bias.
"At the same time, in an ideal world I would like to see people find it just as amazing to meet a flight attendant, to a pilot. In the end of the day we are a team, all working towards the same goal: safe, efficient operation, and our flight attendants are one of our biggest assets to achieve just that!"
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